NEW AGENCY TO FIGHT STATE DRUG PROBLEM

FRANKFORT - One of the state's top elected Democrats yesterday
announced a plan he said will bring more firepower to bear against the
state's debilitating drug problem.

The state's second-ranking Republican officeholder dismissed the plan
to create the Kentucky Bureau of Investigation as a political move
without substance.

Both Attorney General Greg Stumbo and Lt. Gov. Steve Pence have made
fighting drugs a key piece of their agendas. Observers have wondered
whether they would be rivals on the issue.

Stumbo, a longtime legislator who won the race for attorney general
pledging to fight drugs, is seen as a potential Democra-tic candidate
for governor. Pence, a former federal prosecutor who spearheaded
efforts to create a state drug-control strategy this year, is seen as
a potential Republican candidate for higher office.

Both downplayed talk of their political futures yesterday. Stumbo said
he has no plans to run for governor at this time; Pence said he is
focused on the administration's drug-control effort, not politics.

The occasion for their schism was Stumbo's announcement that he had
reorganized his office to create the KBI.

The KBI will be an umbrella containing branches to investigate public
corruption, Medicaid fraud and abuse, and welfare fraud -- such
investigators already existed in the Attorney General's Office -- and
a new drug investigations branch.

The realignment will improve communication, increase efficiency and
bring greater focus to investigating drugs, Stumbo said. "We have an
epidemic ... and our office is taking a step of action today" to
tackle the problem, Stumbo said.

Stumbo said branches of the KBI will continue investigating problems
such as Medicaid fraud much as the attorney general's office did
before, but bring added emphasis to investigating drugs.

Drugs often are involved in those other crimes.

"In order to control the crime in Kentucky, you have to control the
drugs," said David James, a former Louisville police officer named to
head the KBI.

James said the new alignment will not dilute the ability of the KBI's
35 sworn officers to investigate Medicaid fraud, public corruption and
other problems. In fact, the plan will up the number of investigators
in the Public Corruption branch to six because the office gets so many
complaints, James said.

Pence, however, said Stumbo's plan "looks like it's all hat and no
cattle," merely renaming branches that already existed.

The lieutenant governor said he didn't think Stumbo's initiative fit
with the state's new plan to better control drugs through increased
treatment and education and coordinated enforcement. One goal of that
plan was to avoid fragmentation of law-enforcement resources, Pence
said.

Pence said the KBI idea was brought up during development of the
administration's drug-control plan but not recommended.

However, Sylvia Lovely, interim director of the state Office of Drug
Control Policy created as part of the administration's plan, said the
office wants to coordinate with Stumbo on drug prosecutions and other
issues.

Mark Miller, commissioner of the Kentucky State Police, said that in
other states that have bureaus of investigation, those agencies are
the primary statewide criminal investigative authorities.

That is the role the KSP has long held in Kentucky. Having something
called the KBI raises concerns that the public will be confused about
whom to call, or be misled that there is a new primary statewide
crime-fighting agency, Miller said.

Miller noted that the attorney general's office has referred a number
of cases to the KSP in recent months, citing a lack of investigative
resources or staff.

So what was Stumbo's reason for creating the KBI, according to
Pence?

"I think they're preparing for the Democratic primary in 2007," Pence
said.

Stumbo flatly denied that there was a political motive in creating the
KBI. The state's drug problem is so severe that it will take
concentrated, long-term efforts on all fronts -- law enforcement,
treatment and education -- to make significant progress, Stumbo said.

"I've made it a point to try to take politics out of the debate,"
Stumbo said.

In fact, during the news conference to announce creation of the KBI,
Stumbo thanked Pence and Gov. Ernie Fletcher for their efforts on the
drug issue and pledged to work with them.

Later, however, Stumbo said the administration's drug-control plan is
a "toothless tiger" without a dedicated funding source. He renewed his
call for an increase in the state's cigarette tax -- now the lowest in
the nation at 3 cents a pack -- to fund anti-drug efforts.

"We can't solve it without money," Stumbo said of the drug
problem.

Stumbo also said the Fletcher administration's drug-control strategy
is flawed because the coordinating office is the Justice and Public
Safety Cabinet. It would be better to have the plan overseen by an
entity made up of people from all three branches of government --
including legislators who hold the purse strings, he said.

Stumbo said the KBI will not duplicate the drug-fighting efforts of
the state police and other agencies. One reason is that the KBI will
focus on investigating drug distributors, such as large pushers,
doctors who overprescribe pills, or pharmaceutical companies.

Stumbo said his office is investigating more than 30 doctors now. He
also announced an action plan that includes auditing businesses that
sell ingredients needed to make methamphetamine to see if they are
selling suspiciously large amounts.

Stumbo said his office can play a unique role in battling drugs
because in addition to pursuing criminal charges, it can file civil
lawsuits to try to collect damages or shut down people or businesses
involved in the illegal drug trade.

"We will make pushers pay in this state," he said.