Senate Jud I committee continues plodding through a long list of bills to get them moved along to the Senate floor in order to meet tomorrow’s crossover deadline.
After a sexual predator in his 50s abused a 16 year old autistic female, Sen. Julia Boseman (D-New Hanover) filed SB 527 intending to protect young victims from “a person of authority”. However, as the bill is considered, Sen. Jerry Tillman (R-Randolph) points out the way the bill is written anyone of any age engaging in sex when one partner is in a position of influence over the other even when the sex was consensual would be guilty of a criminal offense. The DA who prosecuted the austistic 16 yr. old case says the bill is too broad and doesn’t do what it intends to do. The committee does nothing on this one leaving it in committee to die.
Sen. Boseman had another ill conceived bill, SB 300, Amend Speeding to Elude Arrest Statute. This bill would require law enforcement to seize any vehicle used to try to get away from policemen and hold for 24 hours. Then the owner could get it back. No one seemed to understand why the car would not be forfeited or why you would do this. Sen. Boseman said the bill had been watered down quite a bit from her original proposal. The bill was not voted on and allowed to die as well.
