NEW PLANS FOR DRUG WAR

Pence, Stumbo Meet To Work Together

FRANKFORT - Republican Lt. Gov. Steve Pence and Democrat Attorney General
Greg Stumbo, who have been seen as potential rivals in their efforts to
fight drugs, met yesterday to discuss how their plans could work together.

Stumbo said earlier he had planned to start the Kentucky Bureau of
Investigation inside his office to fight drugs, using part of a $390,000
pot of money left over from his predecessor.

However, Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher's administration took back the
money because of the state's fiscal crisis.

Stumbo met last night with Brad Cowgill, Fletcher's budget director, to
discuss budget issues facing the attorney general's office and prosecutors
across the state.

Stumbo and Cowgill both said they came away with a better understanding of
the problems each faces. Stumbo said Cowgill asked him to submit a revised
budget proposal.

Until budget questions are resolved, Stumbo said, he won't know how soon he
could start the KBI or what its scope might be.

But Stumbo said he first wants to see what role his office could best play
in the war on drugs, and how his ideas could fit into a plan for attacking
drugs that Pence is developing.

Pence yesterday asked him to help put the plan together, Stumbo said.

Pence and Stumbo both campaigned on a pledge to crack down on drug
traffickers. Both also are seen as potential candidates for higher office
- -- giving rise to speculation about a potential political fight over how to
conduct Kentucky's drug war.

Fletcher appointed Pence secretary of the Justice and Public Safety
Cabinet, which includes the Kentucky State Police -- the agency that does
most drug investigations in the state.

But both officeholders said they don't want to be at odds in the fight
against drugs.

Wes Irvin, director of communications for Fletcher, said the state budget
crisis, not politics, was behind the move to "recapture" money from
Stumbo's office.

The governor searched for every penny available to plug a projected $300
million-plus shortfall in the current fiscal year. The administration took
back money from various state offices in the process, Irvin said.

The $390,000 recouped from the attorney general's office had been
designated for hiring, but former Attorney General Ben Chandler saved it by
not filling several administrative slots.

Stumbo said earlier he had hoped to use some of the money to start the KBI,
which would investigate various crimes, including public corruption, but
have a strong focus on illegal drugs.

Stumbo hasn't officially set up the KBI, but has hired David James, a
longtime narcotics officer with the Louisville police, to head it.

Stumbo envisioned the KBI doing drug investigations and acting as a
"coordinating entity" among police at all levels and the public to bring
together information about suspected drug activity. He and James have
discussed setting up a toll-free telephone number to receive tips and
getting a grant for a computer system to synthesize drug intelligence.

Stumbo said the goal would not be to round up street-level dealers, as
other police agencies often do, but to target larger distributors.

"We want to attack the distribution system," he said.

Stumbo said about half the 40 investigators in his office would be
available to shift from other assignments to the KBI.

Stumbo said his office would target drug traffickers through both criminal
prosecutions and civil lawsuits to take away their assets.

Stumbo last year proposed raising the state cigarette tax and using the
money to create the KBI within the state police. If the legislature wants
to come up with money for the KBI and put it inside the KSP, he would
support that, Stumbo said.

However, he said legislators have told him it's unlikely the General
Assembly will raise taxes this year. That's why he wanted to go ahead and
start the KBI within his office, Stumbo said.

For his part, Pence is developing a plan aimed at fusing education efforts
to reduce demand for drugs with enforcement and rehabilitation into one
"seamless" attack on the state's debilitating drug problem.

Pence said there are gaps in the system now. For example, the state needs a
better way to figure out who should go to prison for selling drugs and who
should instead be in treatment, he said.

Expanded use of drug courts could be one way to bridge that gap, Pence said.

Pence said his plan might require some treatment resources that aren't now
available. But he said that overall there is a adequate money available if
the state has a good plan for using it.

"What we need to do is spend smart," Pence said.

Earlier this week, Pence seemed skeptical of Stumbo's idea to start the KBI
in his office. State police already do a good job investigating drugs, and
the state needs to be careful not to duplicate those efforts, he said.

In other states with bureaus of investigation, the state police do highway
patrol, and not a wide range of criminal investigations as in Kentucky,
Pence said.

Stumbo said the drug problem is so monumental that there is plenty of room
for more troops to fight it.

"It's going to take all Kentuckians to try to beat this problem," he said.