A BARE MINIMUM FOR ALBANY

As usual, the end-of-session rush in Albany finds legislators in a filing
frenzy. Capitol chambers are awash in bills. Some of them could even make
it into law. In this tidal wave of proposals, the pols must give particular
attention to two: increasing the state's minimum wage and reforming the
harsh 1973 Rockefeller drug laws. For the good of the state, those must get
to Gov. Pataki's desk for signature. Both are perennials - but this year
they actually stand a chance of passing.

The time is ripe for a minimum wage increase. The federal minimum of $5.15
an hour hasn't budged in five years, and Congress is balking at hiking it.
New York should, therefore, boost the state minimum to be on par with
neighbors like Connecticut and Massachusetts. The Assembly has voted for a
hike to $6.75. The state Senate appears willing to do the same. Hey, guys,
can we reach an agreement here?

New York is a high-income state with a correspondingly high cost of living.
Raising the minimum wage wouldn't cost jobs. It would create more
opportunity for people at the low end of the job market. And thanks to a
1999 change in labor law, farm workers also would benefit from the
increased wage.

On criminal justice matters, the three-decade experiment with the
Rockefeller drug laws has failed. Over the years, Pataki and the
Legislature have offered various reform proposals, all aimed at more
equitable justice: eliminating the harsh excesses meted out to bystanders
and bit players while maintaining stiff penalties for violent drug
criminals and kingpins.

Reform does not mean getting soft on drug crime. It means ridding the state
of the inhumane aspects of the Rockefeller laws. The legislators and the
governor must work out their differences and get the job done before time
runs out.

There are other important bills that need to become law, such as full labor
rights for farm workers, repairs to the budget process, overhauling the
court system, campaign finance reform. But, sadly, Albany's attention span
remains limited. Traditionally, only a handful of truly significant laws
are adopted each session. A high-water mark this time was last week's
decision to grant Mayor Bloomberg responsibility for the city's public schools.

That was quite an achievement, but laurels-resting is not allowed. Before
heading home for summer vacation, the Legislature must at least enact the
two crucial bills cited here.

Honor Donors' Intent

One of the human impulses triggered Sept. 11 was extreme generosity.
Donations poured in to charities to help those left bereft by the attacks.
But nine months later, questions remain about where the money, given so
selflessly and abundantly, has gone. It's enough to trigger an impulse
toward cynicism - and that's not good.

According to a survey by The Washington Post, more than one-third of the
$2.3 billion raised to date by 11 major charities remains undistributed.
And only 28% of the total has been given to victims' families. The
charities apparently are having a hard time dealing with too much of a good
thing.

Some of the difficulties are relatively minor: a check-printer breaking
under an overload of work. Others, more serious: the disbursal process
bogged down over how much aid should go to families from previous
marriages. Even so, some organizations have managed to fulfill their
mission. For example, the International Association of Firefighters' 9-11
Disaster Fund has distributed 92% of the money it collected. Others could
learn from the fund.

Nonprofits surveyed said none of the Sept. 11 money is going to
administrative costs. But we're forced to take their word for that.
Watchdogs - the IRS and state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, to name two -
lack the resources to fully audit the charities' claims.

The Red Cross' inexcusable behavior - unilaterally deciding to divert Sept.
11 pledges to other purposes and dumping hundreds of units of donated blood
- - already has undermined public confidence in the process. Government and
the philanthropic sector must work together to
stave off further disillusionment.