Two of State Senator George Runner’s bills tightening controls on sex offenders passed the Senate last week and are now being considered by the state Assembly.

SB 1204 would require registered sex offenders to disclose their e-mail addresses – they already have to disclose their physical addresses – along with any websites or instant messaging names to law enforcement. Failing to do so would constitute violation of their parole or probation.

The use of social networking sites came to light in the recent case of John Albert Gardner III an offender who maintained a MySpace page. Gardner was convicted of the rape and murder of Chelsea King and Amber DuBois and sentenced last week to life in prison without possibility of parole.

SB 1452 requires certain registered sex offenders to wear GPS monitoring devices that would be administered by local law enforcement authorities. This control becomes even more critical with the early release and transfer of custody from the state corrections system to local agencies due to the state’s budget cuts.

Both bills passed the Senate with a 24-0 vote and moved on to the Assembly.