'Caylee's Law' gets OK in Suffolk

Suffolk legislators Thursday approved a measure prompted by Casey Anthony's acquittal in her daughter Caylee's death, requiring parents to alert authorities within 24 hours if their child is missing.

Legis. Jon Cooper (D-Lloyd Harbor) acknowledged that his measure, passed unanimously at the legislature's meeting in Hauppauge, won't prevent a child from being killed.

Noting that he was outraged by the verdict in Anthony's trial on murder charges, Cooper said his measure, dubbed "Caylee's Law," would have added a year to Anthony's sentence had it been in place in Florida.

Caylee was reported missing by her grandmother, Cindy Anthony, who had not seen her for about a month. When questioned, Casey Anthony told police a baby-sitter had kidnapped the child. After a six-month search, the child's remains were found in December 2008.

Casey Anthony was acquitted of murder but convicted of lying to investigators. She was released soon after her acquittal because of credit for time served.

Under Cooper's measure, parents not promptly reporting their child missing would face a $1,000 fine and up to a year in jail. There had been no penalty for failing to report a child missing, Cooper said.

"As a father of five children, I've always believed a parent's top priority in life should be the safety and well-being of their child, so the Caylee Anthony case was particularly heart-wrenching," he said.

In other action, Legis. Vivian Viloria-Fisher (D-East Setauket) said she has decided to push for an outright ban on distributing paper or plastic shopping bags in retail stores. She had been debating whether to press for a ban or a 5-cent surcharge on each bag to boost the use of reusable ones.

While a county can impose a ban, she said a surcharge would have required state approval. Legislators, though, said they would weigh the environmental benefits of the ban against its effect on businesses.

In addition, Suffolk County Presiding Officer William Lindsay (D-Holbrook) Thursday proposed requiring sex offenders to check in with parks police when they go to county campsites.

He said a county police officer told him of encountering several offenders at campsites. Dan Aug, a spokesman for County Executive Steve Levy, said parks police did not know of the prevalence of sex offenders in campsites.

"This is a gaping hole in the county's laws to protect children and families from sex offenders," Lindsay said.