Bill Text: NY A06109 | 2009-2010 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: An act to establish a street level narcotics enforcement program; and making appropriations therefor
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-2)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-06 - referred to ways and means [A06109 Detail]
Download: New_York-2009-A06109-Introduced.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K ________________________________________________________________________ 6109 2009-2010 Regular Sessions I N A S S E M B L Y &m0 0, 2009 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. HOOPER -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. ALFANO, BARRA, CLARK, CYMBROWITZ, EDDINGTON, P. RIVERA, ROBINSON, SCHIMEL, SWEENEY, TOWNS -- read once and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means AN ACT to establish a street level narcotics enforcement program; and making appropriations therefor THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM- BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: 1 Section 1. Legislative findings. The legislature finds that despite 2 the efforts of law enforcement agencies to control illegal trafficking 3 in narcotics in this state, the prevalence of narcotics sales and use, 4 and the incidence of violent and property crimes directly related to the 5 narcotics trade remains a serious public safety problem. The legislature 6 further finds that state and federal resources devoted to this problem 7 have primarily been concentrated on efforts to arrest and prosecute 8 large-scale narcotics sellers and manufacturers, and to interdict 9 narcotics entering the state. This concentration of effort has left few 10 resources available to assist a certain class of communities which 11 continue to experience severe problems with narcotics sales and use on 12 street corners and in buildings, often abandoned ones, where illegal 13 activities can take place out of the view of the police and public. The 14 legislature concludes that the establishment of a street level narcotics 15 enforcement program is necessary to provide additional resources to 16 certain communities of this state whose quality of life is seriously 17 marred by street level narcotics, but whose local fiscal resources are 18 insufficient to support a suitable law enforcement response to this 19 threat. 20 S 2. a. The division of criminal justice services shall provide aid, 21 within the amounts appropriated therefor, to counties not wholly 22 contained within a city and having a population in excess of one million 23 and to villages within such counties having populations less than fifty EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD08797-01-9 A. 6109 2 1 thousand for the purposes of combating street level narcotics traffick- 2 ing or other offenses related to the sale and use of narcotics. Each 3 county shall be eligible for an amount of aid which is allocated in 4 proportion to such county's population in relation to the total popu- 5 lation of all eligible counties as established by the nineteen hundred 6 eighty federal census. Each incorporated village shall be eligible for 7 an amount of aid which is allocated in proportion to such incorporated 8 village's population in relation to the total population of all eligible 9 incorporated villages as established by the nineteen hundred eighty 10 federal census. 11 b. Each eligible county and incorporated village shall file with the 12 commissioner of the division of criminal justice services an expenditure 13 plan detailing the uses of its allocation and shall receive approval of 14 such plan prior to receiving any funds pursuant to this act. 15 c. Approved uses for funds distributed pursuant to this section shall 16 include, but shall not be limited to, employment of police officers for 17 the primary purpose of enforcing narcotics laws; payment of fringe bene- 18 fits accompanying the employment of such officers; the purchase or lease 19 of equipment, including automobiles, to be used in narcotics enforce- 20 ment; and discretionary payments, including the purchase of controlled 21 substances deemed necessary in the investigation of narcotics crimes. 22 d. Any county or incorporated village receiving funds pursuant to this 23 section which does not maintain its own police department or which wish- 24 es to augment the resources of its police department may contract with 25 one or more municipal or county law enforcement agencies which have 26 jurisdiction within the boundaries of such county or incorporated 27 village to carry out the provisions of the expenditure plan. The 28 provisions of such contracts shall be disclosed in the expenditure plan. 29 e. The division of state police shall provide centralized narcotics 30 enforcement training for police officers employed by or under contract 31 with eligible counties or incorporated villages pursuant to this 32 section. 33 S 3. a. The division of criminal justice services shall provide grants 34 to counties and incorporated villages eligible for aid pursuant to 35 section two of this act for the purpose of creating demonstration 36 projects in counties and incorporated villages which display a compre- 37 hensive approach to combating street level narcotics trafficking. 38 b. Applications for grants pursuant to subdivision a of this section 39 must describe a particular portion or portions of the community in which 40 street level narcotics trafficking is a serious problem, and must 41 propose an approach to solving the problem which contains elements such 42 as more frequent uniformed police patrols, the use of police foot 43 patrols, the interdiction of movement in stolen goods, the securing or 44 demolition of abandoned buildings, enforcement of housing codes and 45 organizing of neighborhood crime prevention groups. 46 c. The commissioner of the division of criminal justice services shall 47 design and conduct evaluations of any programs funded with demonstration 48 grants, with an emphasis on determining if the programs are suitable to 49 be designated as street level narcotics trafficking enforcement models 50 for all law enforcement agencies of the state. 51 S 4. The sum of forty-one million dollars ($41,000,000), or so much 52 thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the division of 53 criminal justice services out of any moneys in the state treasury in the 54 general fund to the credit of the local assistance account, not other- 55 wise appropriated, and made immediately available, for the purposes of 56 providing aid to eligible counties and incorporated villages to combat A. 6109 3 1 street level narcotics trafficking pursuant to subdivision a of section 2 two of this act. Such moneys shall be payable on the audit and warrant 3 of the comptroller on vouchers certified or approved by the commissioner 4 of the division of criminal justice services in the manner prescribed by 5 law. 6 S 5. The sum of three million dollars ($3,000,000), or so much thereof 7 as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the division of criminal 8 justice services out of any moneys in the state treasury in the general 9 fund to the credit of the local assistance account, not otherwise appro- 10 priated, and made immediately available, for the purposes of carrying 11 out the provisions of section three of this act. Such moneys shall be 12 payable on the audit and warrant of the comptroller on vouchers certi- 13 fied or approved by the commissioner of the division of criminal justice 14 services in the manner prescribed by law. 15 S 6. The sum of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000), or so much 16 thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the division of 17 state police out of any moneys in the state treasury in the general fund 18 to the credit of the state purposes account, not otherwise appropriated, 19 and made immediately available, for the purpose of carrying out the 20 provisions of subdivision e of section two of this act. Such moneys 21 shall be payable on the audit and warrant of the comptroller on vouchers 22 certified or approved by the superintendent of the division of state 23 police in the manner prescribed by law. 24 S 7. This act shall take effect immediately.