COMPROMISE IS WITHIN REACH

Hoping to snatch victory from the jaws of the Republican governor, the
Democratic-controlled Assembly last week put forward a compromise bill that
would change New York's longstanding, harsh drug-crime penalties and widen
treatment options for users.

Gov. George Pataki quickly responded, releasing by week's end a program
bill that he said "more fairly and effectively provides for the sentencing
and treatment of those who possess or sell drugs in New York state."

Regardless of the political motivation, the moves by Albany leaders signal
the breakdown of the last barriers to reform of the so-called Rockefeller
drug laws. There should be no reason why reform cannot be accomplished by
the end of the legislative session in two weeks.

The issue has great popularity among nonwhite voters in the state. Many of
them say that the state's harsh sentencing laws unfairly penalize blacks
and Hispanics by imprisoning nonviolent offenders for long periods of time,
with no hope of treatment or parole.

Pataki and Democratic leaders both would love to take credit for reform by
the November elections. The governor has spoken frequently in recent years
about the need for change and has talked up proposals, but had been
criticized for not submitting actual legislation.

The Assembly compromise plan, announced Wednesday, takes several steps to
close gaps with Pataki. It would allow prosecutors to continue to have a
large role in deciding whether low-level drug offenders receive prison or
drug treatment, although judges would have new, broader judicial discretion
in sentencing. It would adopt a "one-strike-you're-out" rule for addicts
who successfully complete a treatment program but again become involved in
drug crimes.

Pataki's announcement also featured an increase in the discretion judges
would have over sentencing and treatment, and he would reduce prison terms
for nonviolent drug felons. But he was careful to balance those with
"get-tough" crime proposals, reminiscent of his earlier administration.
Pataki proposed longer sentences for violent felons, and increased
penalties for armed drug felons and kingpins "who now can escape severe
punishment through a loophole in the law."

There certainly is enough common ground in both documents for the Pataki
administration and the Legislature to come to agreement by session's end.

It has been well established that New York's drug laws have filled New York
prisons without adequately treating those whose lives could be salvageable.
Now it's time for reform that everybody can take credit for.