Ordinance No. 2020-4-3: To repeal in its entirety Ordinance No. 2006-7-10; adopting a new Section 14-123 of Article IX. Residency Restrictions for Child Predator Offenders of Chapter 14 Offenses – Miscellaneous of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Plano, Texas to expand the offenses that require registration for sex offenders to include any offense a person is required to register on the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Sex Offender Database under Article 62.001 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure; simplifying the definition of residence; redefining the term “where children commonly gather” to be consistent with the language in Article 42A.453 of the Code of Criminal Procedure; and providing a repealer clause, a severability clause, a savings clause, a penalty clause, a publication clause, and an effective date. Adopted

Our current Ordinance is outdated. It lists specific offenses for which the child safety zone restriction would apply. Since the ordinance was enacted in 2006, the offenses for which a sex offender has to register under Article 62 of the Code of Criminal Procedure has grown substantially from the list we have in our ordinance. We want to change the wording in our ordinance so that the child safety zone restriction would apply to any offense that a sex offender is required to register for under the Code of Criminal Procedure. Our current ordinance does not include offenses like possession of child pornography, indecent exposure, trafficking, and certain prostitution offenses.

Our surrounding cities have modified their ordinances to include all registerable offenses, and as a result, we have more sex offenders living in our city than the surrounding cities. The number of registered sex offenders in the surrounding cities are as follows:

Allen:  54

Frisco: 36

McKinney:  110

Plano:  132

Richardson:  26

We have noticed an increase in the number of offenders needing to register for Possession of Child Pornography (one of the non-listed registerable offenses). Of the 19 new offenders in 2019, 8 registered for Possession of Child Pornography.  Some of these offenders did not even live in Plano at the time of the offense. They informed us they moved to Plano because there were no restrictions for Possession of Child Porn charges. This means they ultimately can live right next to a school or playground or other area where children commonly gather.

We are asking for changes in the Ordinance to cover any new registerable offenses without having to modify each time the legislature meets and to be consistent with other jurisdictions throughout our area when it comes to the child safety restrictions.

Additionally, the current ordinance needs clarification in definitions and offense language for enforceability.

This item has no fiscal impact.

Approval of this item will support the City's Strategic Plan Critical Success Factor of promoting Safe, Vibrant Neighborhoods and meets the Plano Tomorrow Pillar of Social Environment.