The ordinance, approved after a public hearing in which no one spoke for or against the proposal, was introduced by Commissioner Ken Hagan.

He tried to underscore the threat to children by reading an e-mail from a constituent before the vote that described an incident in which two boys in a youth baseball league were nearly lured away by a stranger over the weekend.

He said the new child safety zones will add an additional layer of protection.

"It's clear to me the state laws do not go far enough," Hagan said.

State lawmakers are considering several bills regarding sex offenders and predators, including a proposal to keep predators from living within 2,500 feet of schools, day care centers, parks or school bus stops. State law sets the limit at 1,000 feet.

Another bill, sponsored by Rep. Rich Glorioso, R-Plant City, seeks to create 300-foot buffer zones statewide for many of the same places cited in the county ordinance passed Wednesday. Glorioso's bill would make it a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to a year behind bars.

County officials opted to explore buffer zones because law enforcement officials feared that tightening residency restrictions would prompt sex offenders to quit registering.

Under the county ordinance, sex predators caught within the buffer zones will be subject to up to two months in jail and a $500 fine.

The county's measure permits sex predators into a banned zone provided they are passing through or have to go to a facility to exercise a constitutional right such as voting.

Today, Tampa officials are scheduled to consider similar buffers within the city. Even if they do nothing, the county ordinance will apply to Hillsborough's three municipalities unless they enact their own measures.

Hagan said Wednesday that the county's buffer zones will rely on residents to report sex predators who are in banned places.

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Col. Carl Hawkins said the buffer zones give deputies another tool to protect children.

"They're looking for that person who's loitering and hanging out in these neighborhoods and they shouldn't be there," Hawkins said.

The agency also regularly checks the listed addresses of registered sex offenders. More than 90 percent of the sex offenders deputies contact are living at their listed address, he said.

The agency publishes those results by ZIP codes so residents can determine whether predators are living nearby.

A registry maintained by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is available online at www.fdle.state.fl.us.

"The best thing we can do is to keep an eye on these people," Hawkins said.

Commissioners also plan to consider a proposal to create similar safe zones within 1,000 feet of nursing homes and seniors-only neighborhoods.

Reporter Anthony McCartney can be reached at (813) 259-7616 or amccartney@tampatrib.com.