State house candidate addresses 'Jessica's Law' claim by opponents
By RICHARD HANNERS / Whitefish Pilot
Whitefish area residents recently received a postcard from the Flathead Business and Industry Association's political action committee announcing that Rep. Mike Jopek, D-Whitefish, had voted against "Jessica's Law."
The FBIA has taken an active role in politics over the past year or two, including surveying Whitefish area residents about their position on the city's two-mile planning jurisdiction and promoting the 911 dispatch center bond in Flathead County.
With former Montana Republican Party executive director Charles Denowh as treasurer, the PAC has received contributions from a number of well-known locals, including Al Schellinger, Craig Aasved, Dick Sonju, Bob Herron, Ken Kalvig, Lyle Phillips, Raymond Thompson, Rick Blake, Thomas Sliter and Turner Askew.
"Jessica's Law" came to the Montana Legislature in 2007 as Senate Bill 547. It called for revising laws on sentencing, registration and treatment of sex offenders.
On April 4, 2007, the House passed four motions on amendments to the bill, and Jopek voted against all four. That same day, however, he joined the overwhelming majority to approve the bill on its second and third readings.
The bill then went back to the Senate, where additional measures were made. On April 26 and 27, Jopek voted against the second and third readings of the Free Conference Committee Report, which was the final version of the bill, and which the House easily passed by a 95-4 vote.
Jopek e-mailed voters on Monday pointing out that he voted for "Jessica's Law" in its earlier version, and he listed a number of other bills he supported that protect children, including bills on child pornography and stalking on the Internet as well as health insurance for children.
His opposition to the final version of "Jessica's Law" had to do with amendments tacked on by the Senate toward the end, Jopek told the Pilot, describing the bill as a "tricky piece of business."
For one, Jopek said professionals were concerned that by ruling out treatment and calling for mandatory sentences, some child victims might be reluctant to testify against their relatives. The children wouldn't want to see family members go to prison for a very long time.
The bill also removed judicial discretion, Jopek said. The additional $12 million it might cost the state to house sex offenders in prison was not as big an issue for him, he said. Jopek also pointed out that Scott Mendenhall, a conservative Republican from Clancy, also voted against SB 547.
Jopek has been critical of the numerous oversized postcards that various PACs have been using to promote local candidates — particularly Jobs For Montana PAC, for which Denowh is also the treasurer, and the Montana Contractors Association PAC.
He says these PACs have been very active in Whitefish area legislative races, and he points out that he takes no PAC money and that his campaign is funded by about 500 individuals.