ASSEMBLY PULLS BILL UNDER VETO THREAT

Compromise Sought On Move To Legalize Needle Exchanges

SACRAMENTO — The Davis administration now says it will permit needle
exchange programs for drug addicts in San Francisco, Marin County, Berkeley
and other areas — but only with local permission and under strict emergency
orders.

Gov. Davis offered a last-minute compromise Wednesday on a bill to formally
legalize needle swaps, which are designed to halt the spread of HIV and
hepatitis. Davis had promised to veto the controversial measure, saying it
sent the wrong message to California children by sanctioning drug use.

But Wednesday, Davis spokesman Michael Bustamante said the Democratic
governor would accept a much-narrower version of the bill. Instead of
"sanctioning" needle exchange programs statewide, Davis would simply free
San Francisco and other cities from the threat of legal action for running
their own, locally funded and locally crafted programs.

Under the current system, The City is forced to declare a state of emergency
over the AIDS epidemic every 14 days, a legal hoop other cities haven't been
willing to take because they fear prosecution. Davis' compromise would free
those more timid communities to start their own programs.

"If (the author) is interested in creating a narrower version of the bill
... where the state would not prosecute agents or local employees who in
good faith are implementing emergency regulations," Bustamante said, "that
is something the governor would look favorably toward."

Assemblywoman Kerry Mazzoni, D-San Rafael, said the governor's offer is a
step in the right direction after seven needle-exchange bills were vetoed or
defeated in the Legislature over the past seven years. Former Gov. Pete
Wilson vetoed every needle-exchange bill be received.

"Of course, it narrows the bill considerably," Mazzoni said of the
compromise, "but I think making progress in this area far outweighs sinking
my heels in the sand on this particular issue."

Regina Aragon, public policy director for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation,
said Wednesday: "The most important thing for us is that the compromise
sends a very clear message to local communities that it is legal to do
needle exchange and that it is an appropriate part of an HIV prevention
program. I really think the devil is in the details."

The bill must be amended and approved by the Legislature before Sept. 10,
the deadline to pass all measures this session. Lawmakers are working
hundreds of bills this week and next.

The proposed changes to Mazzoni's bill came only days after the Legislature
approved the measure and sent it to Davis' desk. On Tuesday, the Assembly
voted to take bill back from the governor to work the compromise, rather
than face a veto. It's highly unusual for the Legislature to yank a bill
back from the governor's desk.

One of Mazzoni's biggest hurdles will be getting law enforcement to support
the measure. Davis charts a conservative path on crime issues, and he
received a letter Monday from California Peace Officers' Association asking
him to veto Mazzoni's bill.

Association president Jim Gardiner, the police chief in San Luis Obispo,
said suggesting that needle programs are effective drug-treatment strategies
is like "asserting that the Napa Valley Wine Train is Step One in an
alcoholic's 12-step program."

Mazzoni's original measure did not require needle-exchange programs.
Instead, it allowed local governments or public health officials to start
the programs. But the compromise would strip the bill of any language
declaring needle programs "an important bridge to treatment and recovery,"
among other sweeping statements.

Of particular concern to the governor was the bill's specific guidelines for
monitoring the programs, including measuring the level of drug use and
needle sharing, even counting the number of condoms distributed. The bill
called for the state to be consulted in these matters.

Bustamante said Davis wanted a much simpler bill, but nevertheless one that
could open the door for other communities to start their own programs.
Contra Costa County officials have said they would start their own needle
swaps if the state gave them legal cover.

"If the local jurisdiction were to determine a public health emergency, then
my assumption would be that it would be covered under the (new) law,"
Bustamante said. "But I think anything outside of that probably would go
down the same path."

San Francisco distributes about 2 million clean needles every year working
with a local budget of about $580,000. That money also buys educational
materials and referrals to drug-abuse treatment programs for anyone willing
to listen at the exchange sites.

Other programs run illegally but with the tacit consent of local law
enforcement. Whether a city has a program depends greatly on the views of
local political authorities and the local district attorney.

State Attorney General Bill Lockyer has the option of shutting down needle
exchange programs, but so far has not signaled what he would do if Mazzoni's
bill is vetoed.

But Lockyer spokeswoman Janelle Beland said, "We wouldn't supersede local
authorities unless we were requested to intervene in some way. As a matter
of course, we allow locals to prosecute their own cases" on needle-exchange
issues.

Six federally funded studies have shown needle programs reduce HIV
transmission without increasing drug use. But Barry McCaffrey, director of
the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, has been an
outspoken opponent to the programs, which operate in about 100 U.S. cities.

"By handing out needles we encourage drug use," McCaffrey wrote recently.
"Such a message would be inconsistent with the tenor of our national
youth-oriented anti-drug campaign."