S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  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:

  Section 1. Legislative findings. The legislature  finds  that  despite
the  efforts  of law enforcement agencies to control illegal trafficking
in narcotics in this state, the prevalence of narcotics sales  and  use,
and the incidence of violent and property crimes directly related to the
narcotics trade remains a serious public safety problem. The legislature
further  finds  that state and federal resources devoted to this problem
have primarily been concentrated on  efforts  to  arrest  and  prosecute
large-scale  narcotics  sellers  and  manufacturers,  and  to  interdict
narcotics entering the state. This concentration of effort has left  few
resources  available  to  assist  a  certain  class of communities which
continue to experience severe problems with narcotics sales and  use  on
street  corners  and  in  buildings, often abandoned ones, where illegal
activities can take place out of the view of the police and public.  The
legislature concludes that the establishment of a street level narcotics
enforcement  program  is  necessary  to  provide additional resources to
certain communities of this state whose quality  of  life  is  seriously
marred  by  street level narcotics, but whose local fiscal resources are
insufficient to support a suitable  law  enforcement  response  to  this
threat.
  S  2.  a. The division of criminal justice services shall provide aid,
within  the  amounts  appropriated  therefor,  to  counties  not  wholly
contained within a city and having a population in excess of one million
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
              

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thousand  for the purposes of combating street level narcotics traffick-
ing or other offenses related to the sale and  use  of  narcotics.  Each
county  shall  be  eligible  for  an amount of aid which is allocated in
proportion  to  such  county's population in relation to the total popu-
lation of all eligible counties as established by the  nineteen  hundred
eighty  federal census.  Each incorporated village shall be eligible for
an amount of aid which is allocated in proportion to  such  incorporated
village's population in relation to the total population of all eligible
incorporated  villages  as  established  by  the nineteen hundred eighty
federal census.
  b. Each eligible county and incorporated village shall file  with  the
commissioner of the division of criminal justice services an expenditure
plan  detailing the uses of its allocation and shall receive approval of
such plan prior to receiving any funds pursuant to this act.
  c. Approved uses for funds distributed pursuant to this section  shall
include,  but shall not be limited to, employment of police officers for
the primary purpose of enforcing narcotics laws; payment of fringe bene-
fits accompanying the employment of such officers; the purchase or lease
of equipment, including automobiles, to be used  in  narcotics  enforce-
ment;  and  discretionary payments, including the purchase of controlled
substances deemed necessary in the investigation of narcotics crimes.
  d. Any county or incorporated village receiving funds pursuant to this
section which does not maintain its own police department or which wish-
es to augment the resources of its police department may  contract  with
one  or  more  municipal  or  county law enforcement agencies which have
jurisdiction within  the  boundaries  of  such  county  or  incorporated
village  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  the  expenditure plan. The
provisions of such contracts shall be disclosed in the expenditure plan.
  e. The division of state police shall  provide  centralized  narcotics
enforcement  training  for police officers employed by or under contract
with  eligible  counties  or  incorporated  villages  pursuant  to  this
section.
  S 3. a. The division of criminal justice services shall provide grants
to  counties  and  incorporated  villages  eligible  for aid pursuant to
section two of this  act  for  the  purpose  of  creating  demonstration
projects  in  counties and incorporated villages which display a compre-
hensive approach to combating street level narcotics trafficking.
  b. Applications for grants pursuant to subdivision a of  this  section
must describe a particular portion or portions of the community in which
street  level  narcotics  trafficking  is  a  serious  problem, and must
propose an approach to solving the problem which contains elements  such
as  more  frequent  uniformed  police  patrols,  the  use of police foot
patrols, the interdiction of movement in stolen goods, the  securing  or
demolition  of  abandoned  buildings,  enforcement  of housing codes and
organizing of neighborhood crime prevention groups.
  c. The commissioner of the division of criminal justice services shall
design and conduct evaluations of any programs funded with demonstration
grants, with an emphasis on determining if the programs are suitable  to
be  designated  as street level narcotics trafficking enforcement models
for all law enforcement agencies of the state.
  S 4. The sum of forty-one million dollars ($41,000,000),  or  so  much
thereof  as  may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the division of
criminal justice services out of any moneys in the state treasury in the
general fund to the credit of the local assistance account,  not  other-
wise  appropriated,  and made immediately available, for the purposes of
providing aid to eligible counties and incorporated villages  to  combat

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street  level narcotics trafficking pursuant to subdivision a of section
two of this act. Such moneys shall be payable on the audit  and  warrant
of the comptroller on vouchers certified or approved by the commissioner
of the division of criminal justice services in the manner prescribed by
law.
  S 5. The sum of three million dollars ($3,000,000), or so much thereof
as  may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the division of criminal
justice services out of any moneys in the state treasury in the  general
fund to the credit of the local assistance account, not otherwise appro-
priated,  and  made  immediately available, for the purposes of carrying
out the provisions of section three of this act. Such  moneys  shall  be
payable  on  the audit and warrant of the comptroller on vouchers certi-
fied or approved by the commissioner of the division of criminal justice
services in the manner prescribed by law.
  S 6. The sum of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000), or  so  much
thereof  as  may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the division of
state police out of any moneys in the state treasury in the general fund
to the credit of the state purposes account, not otherwise appropriated,
and made immediately available, for the  purpose  of  carrying  out  the
provisions  of  subdivision  e  of  section two of this act. Such moneys
shall be payable on the audit and warrant of the comptroller on vouchers
certified or approved by the superintendent of  the  division  of  state
police in the manner prescribed by law.
  S 7.  This act shall take effect immediately.