DRUG-LAW AD REJECTED BY NYC STATION

Albany -- Spanish-Language Broadcaster Drops Spot Criticizing Governor
After Pataki Administration Cited Errors

For the second time, New York City's largest Spanish-language television
station has rejected a pro-Rockefeller Drug Laws reform advertisement that
is critical of Gov. George Pataki after his administration demanded it be
pulled due to inaccuracies.

Attorneys at WXTV Channel 41, a Univision station, on Wednesday told the
nonprofit Center for Policy Reform, which sponsored the ad, that changes
hastily made last week to correct the mistakes were not enough to put it
back on the air.

Stephanie Pillersdorf, a Univision spokeswoman, said the decision was not
politically motivated.

"It's consistent with our long-standing policies and in compliance with the
Federal Trade Commission's truth in advertising mandate," she said.

But Deborah Small, director of public policy for the center's parent
organization, the Drug Policy Alliance, accused Pataki of trying to stifle
criticism in the Hispanic community, which he has been courting as he seeks
a third term.

Small said the same ad ran last year on WXTV and neither the Pataki
administration nor Univision had a problem with it then. "The ad isn't even
directed at the governor," she said. "It really focuses on the impact of
his proposal."

Pataki spokesman Michael McKeon said the administration respects advocates'
right to make their case, but wants them to get the facts straight.

"We welcome open and honest debate on drug law reform," McKeon said. "We
just encourage people to tell the truth."

The ad stopped running last week after WXTV received a letter from state
Director of Criminal Services Chauncey Parker that pointed out errors,
including a claim that "thousands of New Yorkers have a family member who
must complete an obligatory sentence of 30 years" as a result of the laws.
The ad said Pataki's reform "will not reunite these families."

The mandatory minimum sentence for the highest level, or Class A1,
offenders under the Rockefeller Drug Laws is 15 to 25 years to life. There
are 590 such offenders incarcerated in New York.

Pataki has proposed doing away with life sentences and reducing the minimum
jail time for top drug offenders. Under the governor's plan, about 530 of
the A1 offenders could apply for resentencing, and roughly 200 would be
eligible for immediate release, Parker said.

Supporters of reform for the strict 1973 laws, which mandate long prison
sentences for those convicted of possessing or selling relatively small
amounts of narcotics, say Pataki's proposal doesn't return enough
sentencing discretion to judges and won't divert enough addicted,
nonviolent offenders into treatment, not prison.

Small said the center changed the 30-year error within 24 hours. But it
refused to remove the words "thousands of New Yorkers" because the ad
refers to all offenders incarcerated under the drug laws -- about 20,000
people -- not just A1 offenders, Small said. She said another
Spanish-language station, Telemundo, may run the ad.