DRUG LAW REFORM AGREEMENT LOOMS

Assembly Bill Moves Toward Pataki

ALBANY - Assembly Democrats moved toward some of the governor's positions
on reforming the state's Rockefeller-era drug laws in a proposal released
Wednesday.

The new legislation does not match every part of the governor's plan, but
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said he hopes the compromise bill will lead
to an agreement with the governor and Senate on reforming the strict drug laws.

"We are trying to provide the leadership necessary to move this particular
issue to reality. We're doing the work, we've done the work, and we are now
attempting to meet the governor more than halfway," Silver said. He said he
expects the Assembly to pass the bill within the next week.

Last month, Gov. George Pataki came out with the latest of several
proposals to reform the Rockefeller drug laws. Pataki's proposal is not in
bill form yet. But his criminal justice coordinator, Chauncey Parker, has
been meeting with drug reform groups and others over the past month to get
their views on the plan.

As under the governor's plan, the new Assembly bill would give prosecutors
the first chance to decide whether a drug offender should go to prison or
drug treatment. Under both plans, a judge could overrule the prosecutor's
decision, however.

The new Assembly bill, like the governor's plan, would remove the
possibility of life imprisonment for drug offenses. It would set specific
sentences for only the most serious drug offenses, while Pataki would set
specific sentences for all drug offenders.

The new Assembly bill also includes a "one strike and you're out rule" that
would bar offenders from being sentenced to a drug treatment program if
they have completed a court-approved treatment program in the past.

Silver said that was comparable to the governor's plan to limit the pool of
nonviolent drug addicts eligible for treatment.

The new proposal also removes gun control measures that were in the
original Assembly bill, including a provision that would prohibit violent
felons from ever possessing a gun. Silver said these measures could be seen
as "poison pills" that would block an agreement on drug law reform.

Silver said Assembly Democrats would advance a separate package of bills to
reduce the supply of illegal guns to drug dealers. The new Assembly bill
contains a provision similar to the governor's proposal, which would impose
a mandatory five-year sentence on anyone who commits a drug offense while
carrying a gun.

Both the Assembly bill and the governor's plan would allow some inmates
imprisoned under the Rockefeller drug laws to be resentenced under the new
provisions. Silver said roughly 8,000 inmates could be affected by the
Assembly legislation.

The governor and Legislature have talked about reforms to the Rockefeller
drug laws for several years, but have been unable to agree on a plan.

Assembly Democrats said the possibility of reform seems better this year,
because of the potential for savings at a time when the state's resources
are stretched. It is also an election year for the governor and the
Legislature, and the governor has been trying to reach out to minorities.

"The governor has positioned himself as more moderate, particularly with
people of color," said Assemblyman Ron Canestrari, D-Cohoes.

Caroline Quartararo, spokeswoman for the Division of Criminal Justice
Services, said the Assembly plan represents progress in the effort to
reform the drug laws.

"We'll review their proposal, but it looks like a good first step and we're
working hard to get something done," she said.

Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick, said Senate Republicans
want to review the governor's bill, and are "open to getting something
done" on reforming the drug laws.

Former state Sen. John Dunne, a Republican who co-sponsored the Rockefeller
drug laws and is now lobbying to reform them, said he is encouraged by the
attempt at compromise.

But he said he has concerns about some aspects of the new Assembly bill,
particularly that it limits the current inmates who would qualify for release.

"So many families have stood firm and have really been the most convincing
advocates for reform. It's clear there are significant injustices for
countless people who are in prison," he said.

Deborah Small of the drug-reform group Drug Policy Alliance said she was
happy the Assembly proposal seems to be a move toward a compromise. But she
said both the Assembly and governor's proposals exclude drug offenders with
more than one offense, whom she said are those most in need of treatment.

Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney said he doesn't see the
new Assembly bill as a compromise with the governor's plan.

"This is not substantially different than the [Assembly] proposal last
year, and in some ways it may be worse," Carney said.

Carney, chairman of the executive committee for the New York State District
Attorneys Association, said sweeping changes to the state's drug laws are
not necessary. But he said the governor's plan, at least, would provide for
court-ordered drug treatment in a more limited set of circumstances than
the new Assembly bill would.