Lawmakers Author Bill to Provide Nursing Homes with Sex Offender List

State Senator Debbe Leftwich, D-OKC, and Representative Rebecca Hamilton, D-OKC, have co-authored legislation to give families more peace of mind when looking at nursing homes for loved ones.

Sen. Leftwich is principal author of Senate Bill 870. Her legislation would require local law enforcement officials to provide nursing homes with copies of the state’s sex offender registry. Those facilities would then be required to display the list in an area accessible to residents, employees and visitors.

“Having to place a loved one in a nursing home is hard enough on most families. They shouldn’t have to agonize about whether they may be putting them in harm’s way of a convicted sex offender,” Leftwich said. “This information is already available to the public—but we need to make it more accessible, especially when it comes to nursing homes.”

Leftwich said constituents and other citizens from across the state called for legislative action after media reports of sex offenders residing in Oklahoma nursing homes.

Governor Brad Henry has also voiced his support of making the sex offender registry available to nursing home residents, along with requiring criminal background checks of employees and volunteers.

“I believe we’ll be including language requiring such background checks for employees and volunteers who work in nursing home facilities as the bill moves through the legislative process.” Hamilton said. “Their residents are some of our most vulnerable citizens. We need to protect them from criminals looking for their next victim.”

SB 870 has been assigned to the Senate Committee on Health and Human Resources.

“I’m hopeful we’ll get a positive reception to the measure by committee members. I think this is a concern most members can relate to and it’s something we need to address,” Leftwich said.