DES MOINES - Key lawmakers say they are close to an agreement on a plan to revise state laws dealing with sex offenders.

Law enforcement officials have criticized the 2,000-foot law for years, saying it's difficult to enforce. Large areas of cities were off limits as places to live for convicted offenders whose crimes were against children.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has been meeting behind closed doors in recent weeks to hash out a plan to revise the law and still provide protection to the public.

Sen. Keith Kreiman, D-Bloomfield, said the latest version of working group's plan would apply the 2,000-foot rule only to the most serious offenders.

"I think the agreement will have the support of law enforcement and victims' groups," Kreiman said.

But the plan would clamp down on all people on the state's sex offender registry and prohibit them from going into or working in exclusionary zones that would include schools, libraries and places where groups of children gather.

Offenders also would be prohibited from loitering within 300 feet of areas covered by those zones.

Under the plan, corrections officials would have discretion to decide which sex offenders would wear bracelets with real-time GPS tracking abilities.

Sex offenders on the state's registry would have additional reporting requirements to local sheriff's offices.

"I think we're very, very close" on reaching a deal, Kreiman said.

Contact Charlotte Eby at (515) 422-9061 or chareby@aol.com.