Pubdate: Sun, 12 May 2002
Source: Press & Sun Bulletin (NY)
Copyright: 2002 Press & Sun Bulletin
Contact:  http://www.pressconnects.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/878
Author: Yancey Roy

PATAKI ACTS TO REFORM DRUG LAWS

Election Year Gives Advocates Hope For Broader Change

ALBANY -- The Pataki administration has revved up its efforts to negotiate 
a rewrite of New York's drug laws, floating a new proposal and putting on a 
full-court press by its criminal-justice chief.

Talks have intensified during the last three weeks as Gov. George E. Pataki 
has made a push to get changes during this election year, lawmakers said. 
The Republican offered a new plan giving judges more leeway in sentencing 
and more power to order drug treatment.

This is Pataki's third proposal since he made rewriting the drug laws a 
cornerstone of his 2001 State of the State address. Advocates for reform 
said Pataki's plan doesn't go far enough, yet it demonstrates a new urgency 
to get something done.

"It's enough of a change to show they're serious," said former Sen. John 
Dunne, who 29 years ago sponsored the state's mandatory sentencing laws but 
is now a leading reform advocate.

Change in the Air

Even lawmakers who don't support an overhaul said the political grounds are 
shifting. Republicans, who control the state Senate and have resisted 
changes, are drawing up a new proposal for smaller-scale reform.

"We're hoping that we can do something this (legislative) session," said 
Sen. Dale Volker, R-Depew, Erie County, chairman of the Senate Codes 
Committee, which oversees criminal statutes.

Chauncey Parker, who became Pataki's criminal-justice chief earlier this 
year, said he's been working full time on the issue. "This is the No. 1 
priority the governor has set for me," Parker said.

Enacted under Gov. Nelson Rockefeller in 1973, New York's drug laws are 
considered among the nation's harshest. Offenders can receive life terms 
for possessing or selling even small amounts of narcotics. The laws grant 
judges little discretion on sentencing people convicted of certain felonies.

Since their enactment, the laws have contributed to the growth in the 
number of state prisoners. The prison population mushroomed from 12,500 in 
1973 to 71,472 in 1999, but has now dropped off slightly. About 21,000 
inmates are serving time for drug convictions. There were 20 state prisons 
in 1973, compared to 71 currently.

'This is the Time'

Opponents of the laws say the measures haven't curbed drug use and have 
disproportionately affected minorities, who account for the bulk of drug 
convicts.

Opponents rallied at the state Capitol this week on the anniversary of the 
enactment of drug laws. They said the political climate gives them more 
hope for change. As Pataki campaigns for re-election, he has sought support 
of minority groups.

But the chances are slim Pataki will deliver many goodies in the state 
budget. So a drug-law rewrite is the item many groups most want, activists 
said.

"He's never been more aggressive than this year. So this is the time to 
bring all the pressure we can on the governor," said the Rev. Clarence 
Grant of the Convent Avenue Baptist Church in New York City, one of the 
activists who lobbied this week.

"I believe that after the (political) conventions, you will see a more 
active African-American and Hispanic community" pressing the issue, added 
the Rev. Glen Missick of the African American Council of the Reformed 
Church. The conventions are set for the end of May, about three weeks 
before the end of the legislative session.

Pataki's new proposal has three planks:

* Giving a judge the opportunity to overrule when a district attorney 
denies a non-violent drug offender the chance to go into treatment rather 
than prison. This would apply to first- and second-time offenders, 
convicted of lower-level crimes -- "the overwhelming majority" of 
offenders, Parker said.

* Decreasing sentences and eliminating Parole Board discretion over some 
sentences. For example, someone convicted of an A-1 felony, the most 
serious kind, faces a minimum sentence of 15 years to life and a maximum of 
25 years to life, with the Parole Board determining when to release him. 
Pataki would change the sentence to 10-20 years.

* Boosting penalties when a gun is involved. An offender would face an 
additional five-year sentence.

The governor would not change the threshold weights that determine what 
level charge a person faces.

The Democrat-led Assembly wants to double the threshold weights, give 
judges all authority over putting someone in drug treatment and make an 
offender eligible for parole after serving one-third of his sentence.

Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry, D-Queens, the lead sponsor of reform bills in 
that house, didn't immediately return calls to comment.

Volker said the Senate will support giving more money for drug treatment. 
However, he said senators would resist breaks for second-time felony 
offenders. And he acknowledged that regional and philosophical differences 
could block a deal. Downstate, liberal legislators want bigger changes than 
what upstate, more conservative lawmakers can stomach.

"I don't think what downstaters want is something upstaters can do," Volker 
said.
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