A measure that bars registered sex offenders from operating ice cream trucks in San Bernardino County has been unanimously approved by the Board of Supervisors.

The ordinance, sponsored by Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt, requires anyone seeking a business license to sell ice cream to undergo electronic fingerprinting that would be checked against state and national criminal databases. Violators could be fined $500 per day or face six months in jail or both.

"It's a proactive measure to protect children in San Bernardino County," said David Zook, a spokesman for the supervisor. The board approved the ordinance on Tuesday.

Assemblyman Paul Cook (R-Yucca Valley) proposed a similar ban in the state Legislature after a group of parents in the Riverside County city of Perris discovered that an ice cream driver was on the list of registered sex offenders.

"Police told them it was legal," Zook said. "They didn't think that was appropriate. Other people didn't think it was appropriate."

But with the legislation tied up, San Bernardino County went ahead with its own countywide ban.

More than 250 ice cream trucks operate in the county. Anyone found to be in violation of the law could be fined $500 a day or six months in jail or both.

andrew.blankstein@latimes.com