Paterson vetoes Suffolk sex offender reporting bill

ALBANY - Gov. David A. Paterson announced Sunday he has vetoed a bill requiring Suffolk County to tell police where homeless sex offenders are living.

Paterson said the bill may violate the state constitution and unwisely exempts some Suffolk offenders from providing their name and address to the state's Sex Offender Registry within 10 days of moving. Paterson also said if he signed the bill into law, it would likely spawn lawsuits that eventually could undermine the registry.

The legislation called for Suffolk's social services department to provide the homeless offender's name and address to local police within 24 hours of placing them in temporary housing. The bill was introduced last spring by state Sen. Brian X. Foley (D-Blue Point) and Assemb. Marc Alessi (D-Shoreham) as county leaders sparred over where homeless sex offenders should live.

County Executive Steve Levy's proposals to relocate offenders to a Babylon industrial park from trailers in Riverhead and Westhampton, or alternatively to give them vouchers for motels, were shot down by county lawmakers. They instead want small groups of offenders to be housed throughout the county, starting Oct. 15.

In issuing the veto, Paterson said, "this bill, which is applicable to a single county, fails to provide an effective solution to whatever problems may exist in monitoring the whereabouts of homeless sex offenders." Requiring Suffolk County to report an offender's whereabouts, instead of the offenders doing it themselves, unwisely gives them immunity against criminal prosecution for failure to comply with the state's reporting law, he said.

Paterson added that the mandate on Suffolk could violate the constitution's home rule provision, which protects the rights of local governments.

Counties must provide housing to homeless sex offenders, who number between 15 and 30 in Suffolk.

Alessi said, "We need to eliminate the risk of temptation for sex offenders to strike again by defensive action - like keeping them further from our children and letting them know we're watching them." He has objected to the clustering of offenders in a few communities in eastern Suffolk.

In the State Legislature, there appear to be enough votes to override Paterson's veto. The bill passed unanimously in the Senate and was opposed by only one Assembly member.

Responding to news of the veto, Levy spokesman Dan Aug said the county executive supports a recent bill from Suffolk Legis. Jack Eddington (D-Medford) requiring homeless sex offenders "to call in on a daily basis to proper authorities."

The sex offender bill was one of 22 vetoed by Paterson Sunday. He also struck down a measure requiring the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to hold public hearings in all suburban counties it serves before raising fares or changing train service.

But it was his nixing of a bill limiting the rent payments of low-income people with AIDS that drew the most fire. Calling it his "most difficult veto," Paterson said the state and New York City could not afford the bill's price tag, estimated at more than $20 million.

Among the 50 bills the governor signed into law are those that would:

Require nail salons and beauty parlors to provide workers with masks and gloves for nail treatments.

Permit two unmarried but intimate adults to adopt a child.