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STATE OF NEW YORK
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5285

2011-2012 Regular Sessions

IN ASSEMBLY

February 15, 2011
___________

Introduced  by  M. of A. HOOPER -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. CLARK,
  CYMBROWITZ, 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
thousand  for the purposes of combating street level narcotics traffick-

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD06870-01-1
A. 5285                             2

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
street level narcotics trafficking pursuant to subdivision a of  section
A. 5285                             3

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.