DRUG LAW REFORM

Overdue Revisions Stalled In Legislature

State Senate Republicans this week walked away from a conference
committee that offered hope of achieving long-desired reforms in the
state's draconian Rockefeller drug laws.

Unable to reach agreement with Assembly Democrats after a half-dozen
meetings, senators said there was no reason to continue the rare
format of using an open conference committee in a process where major
legislation is drafted behind closed doors by the three top officials
- - Gov. George E. Pataki, Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno and
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

The conferees managed to agree on some key points in revising the
harsh sentences meted out under laws enacted during Gov. Nelson
Rockefeller's administration.

Senate and Republican negotiators agreed to scale back the sentences
for possession or sale of small amounts of controlled substances,
which can now earn up to life imprisonment. They also agreed to reduce
mandatory minimum sentences for lesser offences.

The sticking points remain for Democrats. They want to reduce B-level
sentences of 41/2-to-9 year prison terms, which effect 5,000 of 16,000
inmates in state prisons serving time under the B statue.

And Democrats would give judges more discretion to sentence offenders
to treatment rather than prison terms. It is a reasonable proposal
that would allow judges to determine when to divert offenders to
treatment programs that may be more effective and less costly than
lengthy prison terms.

Police and prosecutors united as the Law Enforcement Coalition Against
Drug Decriminalization object to judicial discretion. The change would
deprive them of the power to block diversion to treatment programs.

Either chamber could pass a one-house bill, which would be pointless.
Time is running out; the legislative session is scheduled to end June
22.

In the pass year, 27 states have managed to ease their drug laws to
reduce mandatory minimum drug sentences or provide drug treatment
options. Time is running out for New York to do the same and put the
issue behind us after seven years of talking about it.