Pubdate: Thu, 6 Jun 2002 Source: Times Union (Albany, NY) Copyright: 2002 Capital Newspapers Division of The Hearst Corporation Contact: http://www.timesunion.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/452 Author: Elizabeth Benjamin, Capitol bureau Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?140 (Rockefeller Drug Laws) ASSEMBLY ACTS ON DRUG LAWS Albany-- Compromise Bill Yields To Gov. Pataki On Some Key Aspects Of Reforming Statutes In a possible breakthrough after years of efforts to modify the strict Rockefeller Drug Laws, the Democrat-controlled Assembly issued a compromise reform bill on Wednesday that offers significant concessions to Republican Gov. George Pataki. The plan adopts several key aspects of a reform framework Pataki proposed in early May. It allows district attorneys to choose which nonviolent drug offenders are eligible for treatment rather than prison, but gives judges the power to overrule. The Assembly originally wanted full sentencing discretion for judges. The Assembly would also eliminate parole for high-level drug offenders convicted of class A1 and A2 felonies, as Pataki has sought. Parole would remain an option under the Assembly plan for almost all lower-level drug offenders -- including those convicted of most B-class felonies and all C, D and E felonies. Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, called the measure "our last, best hope to getting the governor to the negotiating table'' on the 1973 laws, which mandate long sentences, up to life, for selling or possessing relatively small amounts of narcotics. Pataki spokeswoman Caroline Quartararo called the Assembly's bill "a good step.'' Sources close to the negotiations said Silver's refusal to end parole for all drug felons could be a sticking point. Reform failed in 1999 amid Pataki's insistence that it be tied to abolishing parole. Both the Assembly and Pataki would end life sentences for A1 and A2 drug offenders and increase funding for treatment to accommodate an increase in patients. More offenders now incarcerated under the drug laws could appeal their sentences under the Assembly's plan, but the number is fewer than in an earlier proposal. Robert Gangi, director of the Correctional Association of New York, a prison watchdog group, said the Assembly bill is "a potential step forward.'' But he questioned the virtue of limiting the number of offenders eligible for treatment or retroactive appeals. "These exclusions are not made based on substantive rationales, but on political considerations,'' said Gangi, whose organization favors full repeal of the drug laws. John Tunney, president of the New York State District Attorneys Association, said reform is unnecessary because many people already get addiction treatment. Meanwhile, some questioned why Silver was willing to bend in an election year. Reaching a deal before the end of this legislative session could help Pataki appeal to traditionally Democratic minority voters, who advocates say have been disproportionately affected by the drug laws. Silver's compromise may rob the two Democratic candidates -- state Comptroller H. Carl McCall and former U.S. Housing Secretary Andrew Cuomo -- of a potent weapon against Pataki, political observers said. But Silver insisted reform "isn't about elections.'' "We're here to do something that impacts people, people who are suffering,'' he said. "People who, but for the availability of treatment, are forced into a life of prison, a life of recidivism.'' - --- MAP posted-by: Josh