Senate Bill S6638A

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S6638A

SPONSOR: SALAZAR
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the penal law and the criminal procedure law, in
relation to second felony drug offenders; and to repeal subdivision 4 of
section 70.70 of the penal law relating thereto

 
PURPOSE:

To ensure that all individuals facing drug charges are treated similar-
ly, without regard to prior non-drug related convictions.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Amends paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 of section 70.70 of the
penal law, as amended by section 23 of part AAA of chapter 56 of the
laws of 2009.

Section 2: Repeals subdivision 4 of section 70.70 of the penal law.

              

Section 3: Amends paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 216.00 of
the criminal procedure law, as added by section 4 of part AAA of chapter
56 of the laws of 2009.

Section 4: Sets forth the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

When the Rockefeller drug laws were revised in 2004 and 2009, sentences
were reduced for people charged with drug crimes, positive steps forward
in New York in regard to the goal of transforming the criminal legal
system to be more humane and just. However, an anomaly in these reforms
was the new provision requiring that people charged with non-violent
drug offenses who had a prior violent felony conviction had their
sentences enhanced (Penal Law 70.70 (4)). This had never previously been
required. People charged with drug crimes are the only people charged
with non-violent offenses whose sentences are enhanced because a predi-
cate felony conviction was for a violent crime. In the 2009 Rockefeller
drug law revisions, these individuals were made ineligible for the judi-
cial diversion program even though it has been demonstrated that commu-
nity-based drug treatment is a far more effective and cost-effective way
to reduce recidivism than incarceration, thus benefiting not just the
individual but also their communities and the public at large.

New York must repeal 70.70 (4), so as to realign New York's sentencing
laws, allowing individuals charged with drug crimes to be treated iden-
tically with individuals charged with other non-violent offenses, basing
sentences on their current offenses and not prior criminal history.

CPL 216.00 must also be amended, making these individuals eligible for
the judicial diversion program so judges can send them to treatment
rather than incarceration when that is appropriate. Because individuals
with prior violent felony convictions are not eligible for merit time,
both CPL 216.00 (1) (a) (i) and (ii) and a portin of (iii) must be
stricken in order to make these individuals eligible for the judicial
diversion program. These amendments will move New York one step closer

to meeting the current calls for criminal legal system reforms and
social justice.

 
RACIAL JUSTICE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPACT:

Given the systemic racism in the criminal legal system, these laws no
doubt have a disproportionate impact on New York's Black and Latinx
communities, as they are disproportionately arrested and convicted for
drug offenses far beyond their population and drug usage rates. This
bill, to repeal PL 70.70 (4), and amend CPL § 216.00, would move New
York one step closer to addressing inequities in the legal system.

 
AMENDED BILL

The "A" print of the bill makes two technical changes as recommended by
the Office of Court Administration Criminal Law Advisory Committee,
which issued a memorandum expressing general support for this bill.
These amendments clarify that there would still be an exclusion from
diversion programs (unless the prosecutor consents) for all individuals
previously convicted of Class A felonies, not just those convicted of
drug-related Class A felonies and the amendments also clarify the effec-
tive date to be applicable solely for individuals sentenced after the
effective date.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act will take effect immediately and shall apply to cases where a
sentence is imposed on or after the effective date.