JEFFERSON CITY—The governor recently signed into law legislation filed by Sen. Gary Romine, R-Farmington, that allows local law enforcement agencies to access important electronic tracking information related to conditionally released sexual offenders in the area. Senate Bill 188 also requires local prosecuting attorneys to be notified of the release of sexual offenders in their jurisdiction.

Senator Romine said the bill is about increasing the safety of Missouri’s communities, particularly in the 3rd District, which is home to one of the state’s sexual offender units.

“The state put these measures in place for a reason—to keep citizens safe. However, it’s important that local law enforcement agencies are also privy to this information,” said Sen. Romine. “The bill increases cooperation between state and local agencies so that every step can be taken to keep Missouri families safe, one of my highest priorities.”

Under Senate Bill 188, prosecuting attorneys are added to the list of persons served a petition for the conditional release of a sexually violent predator if the offender falls in their jurisdiction.

The legislation also allows the chief law enforcement officer in the city or county where a sexual offender has been conditionally released to access the electronic tracking information collected on the offender by the Department of Corrections, including any alerts.

These provisions will go into effect on Aug. 28. Another act in the bill, which revised the definition of “sexually violent offense” for the purpose of conditional releases, contained an emergency clause and went into effect upon the governor’s signature.

For more information on Sen. Romine’s sponsored legislation, visit his Missouri Senate website at www.senate.mo.gov/romine.