Senate Bill S7641

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S7641

 TITLE OF BILL :
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to endangering the welfare
of a child by exposing them to controlled substances


 PURPOSE :
This bill seeks to protect the children of New York from the many
dangers of clandestine drug laboratories.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :
Section 1. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 260.35.
Section 2. The effective date be the ninetieth day after it has become
law.

 JUSTIFICATION :
Clandestine laboratories are a serious threat to any individual, but
especially for children. The DEA's National Clandestine Seizure System
reported that in 2003, nationally, nearly 1,500 incidents occurred
where a child was present at a clandestine laboratory.  Dangers to
children arise not only from the drugs that are produced, but also
from the many hazards drug production may cause including chemical
fumes from waste and uninhabitable conditions.

The close vicinity of the chemical labs to children. poses a great
              

health risk. Direct contact with many of the chemicals can result in
burns to the face, eyes, and mucous membranes.  Children are also
highly susceptible to the carcinogenic fumes and many other pollutants
that are created during drug production.  For every one pound of
"meth" produced, five to seven pounds of toxic waste is created.
Typically, the location of these laboratories are not in facilities
with proper ventilation also increases the possibility of fires due to
the explosive nature of many of the chemical compounds.

In addition to the dangers to the toxic chemicals, the quality of life
in and around these laboratories must be considered.  Due to the
severity of the punishment for operating a drug laboratory are secret
and well=guarded.  In many past discoveries of clandestine
laboratories, police have encountered guns, booby-trapped areas, and
planted explosives.

This bill seeks to protect the children of New York from the dangers
of clandestine drug laboratories. Those who knowingly endanger a child
by allowing them near a drug laboratory shall be held accountable for
their actions.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :
New bill.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :
None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This bill shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it has become a
law.