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Measure Approved by Voters Lacks Funds; Lawmakers Look to Congress advertisement
Mayor Williams opposes eliminating the threat of jail for drug users.
Last month's voter initiative giving nonviolent drug criminals the right to treatment instead of jail was shelved by the D.C. Council yesterday on its busy final meeting of the year.
On a day of wide-ranging legislative action affecting everything from trees to homeless shelters to labor laws, the council voted 12 to 1 to not implement the new drug rules unless Congress approves millions of dollars in funding to pay for them -- a turn of events city officials called unlikely.
The action marked the fifth time in recent years that the council has moved to block or invalidate voter initiatives, including measures to limit campaign contributions to council members and the number of terms they can serve.
The drug initiative passed with 78 percent of the vote Nov. 5. But it belatedly ran into stiff opposition from city leaders, including Mayor Anthony A. Williams ( D ), who is waging a court fight to stop it.
He and others argued that the change would be costly and would, paradoxically, undermine efforts to encourage compliance with drug treatment plans by eliminating the threat of jail. Administration officials said Williams would probably sign the council's bill but also keep up the court fight.
Officials estimated that the drug program could cost as much as $23 million a year in a budget already facing severe pressures from a weak economy. Any savings from fewer jail stays would go to the federal government, which pays to house the city's felons.
Council Chairman Linda W. Cropp ( D ) led the push to prohibit the use of locally collected tax dollars to pay for the voter initiative.
"Their intent was certainly not to create a budget deficit in the city," said Cropp, who said she favored providing more drug treatment as an alternative to jail. "The will of the people will go forward, just not without appropriate funding."
The lone vote against the bill came from council member Adrian M. Fenty ( D-Ward 4 ), who said afterward, "I just don't think the council of the District of Columbia should override citizens' initiatives."
Opio L. Sokoni, an organizer for the Drug Policy Alliance, the Washington-based group that pushed the initiative, praised the council's action. "This is exactly what we wanted," Sokoni said. "The D.C. budget is in crisis. Our real fight is with Congress."
But Fenty said it was unlikely that a Republican Congress would designate new funding to pay for the drug treatment effort, particularly if it weakened other criminal sanctions such as jail.
"That has no chance of passing," said Fenty, expressing a sentiment widely shared by city officials.
Also yesterday:
* The council approved $660,000 for emergency services for the homeless. The money was included in a bill that approved $50 million in city spending while this year's budget is trapped in Congress. All but the money for the homeless was already budgeted to be spent this year.
* A tree preservation bill debated for the past 18 months was approved, over the objections of many in the business community. It levies fees of $35 per inch for cutting down trees with circumferences of 55 inches of more. The minimum fee is $1,925.
The bill, sponsored by council member Phil Mendelson ( D-At Large ), survived efforts yesterday by council member Vincent B. Orange Sr. ( D-Ward 5 ) to exempt homeowners.
The Sierra Club praised the vote. Real estate industry lobbyist Damian O'Doherty dubbed the bill "a stocking stuffer for the environmental lobby. The homeowner gets the coal."
* Labor leaders scored a victory when the council voted to require that hotel developers receiving city funding sign pacts with workers.
* The council voted to delay a new business license requirement from taking effect until May. It was originally scheduled to begin in September but ran into intense opposition from business interests because it subjected those earning as little as $2,000 in private enterprises to new bureaucracy and fees.
* The council gave courts new power to temporarily commit those found mentally incompetent to stand trial for crimes. The period, not to exceed 48 hours, would allow officials to maintain custody while initiating proceedings for long-term commitment. The bill was in response to the October slaying of congressional intern Claude Rashad McCants, allegedly by a mentally ill man who had been found unfit to stand trial on prior criminal charges but was released pending a hearing on civil commitment.
* A bill requiring that police develop procedures for recording interrogations also passed.
Pubdate: Wed, 18 Dec 2002
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2002 The Washington Post Company
Contact: letters@washpost.com
Website: Washington Post: Breaking News, World, US, DC News & Analysis
Mayor Williams opposes eliminating the threat of jail for drug users.
Last month's voter initiative giving nonviolent drug criminals the right to treatment instead of jail was shelved by the D.C. Council yesterday on its busy final meeting of the year.
On a day of wide-ranging legislative action affecting everything from trees to homeless shelters to labor laws, the council voted 12 to 1 to not implement the new drug rules unless Congress approves millions of dollars in funding to pay for them -- a turn of events city officials called unlikely.
The action marked the fifth time in recent years that the council has moved to block or invalidate voter initiatives, including measures to limit campaign contributions to council members and the number of terms they can serve.
The drug initiative passed with 78 percent of the vote Nov. 5. But it belatedly ran into stiff opposition from city leaders, including Mayor Anthony A. Williams ( D ), who is waging a court fight to stop it.
He and others argued that the change would be costly and would, paradoxically, undermine efforts to encourage compliance with drug treatment plans by eliminating the threat of jail. Administration officials said Williams would probably sign the council's bill but also keep up the court fight.
Officials estimated that the drug program could cost as much as $23 million a year in a budget already facing severe pressures from a weak economy. Any savings from fewer jail stays would go to the federal government, which pays to house the city's felons.
Council Chairman Linda W. Cropp ( D ) led the push to prohibit the use of locally collected tax dollars to pay for the voter initiative.
"Their intent was certainly not to create a budget deficit in the city," said Cropp, who said she favored providing more drug treatment as an alternative to jail. "The will of the people will go forward, just not without appropriate funding."
The lone vote against the bill came from council member Adrian M. Fenty ( D-Ward 4 ), who said afterward, "I just don't think the council of the District of Columbia should override citizens' initiatives."
Opio L. Sokoni, an organizer for the Drug Policy Alliance, the Washington-based group that pushed the initiative, praised the council's action. "This is exactly what we wanted," Sokoni said. "The D.C. budget is in crisis. Our real fight is with Congress."
But Fenty said it was unlikely that a Republican Congress would designate new funding to pay for the drug treatment effort, particularly if it weakened other criminal sanctions such as jail.
"That has no chance of passing," said Fenty, expressing a sentiment widely shared by city officials.
Also yesterday:
* The council approved $660,000 for emergency services for the homeless. The money was included in a bill that approved $50 million in city spending while this year's budget is trapped in Congress. All but the money for the homeless was already budgeted to be spent this year.
* A tree preservation bill debated for the past 18 months was approved, over the objections of many in the business community. It levies fees of $35 per inch for cutting down trees with circumferences of 55 inches of more. The minimum fee is $1,925.
The bill, sponsored by council member Phil Mendelson ( D-At Large ), survived efforts yesterday by council member Vincent B. Orange Sr. ( D-Ward 5 ) to exempt homeowners.
The Sierra Club praised the vote. Real estate industry lobbyist Damian O'Doherty dubbed the bill "a stocking stuffer for the environmental lobby. The homeowner gets the coal."
* Labor leaders scored a victory when the council voted to require that hotel developers receiving city funding sign pacts with workers.
* The council voted to delay a new business license requirement from taking effect until May. It was originally scheduled to begin in September but ran into intense opposition from business interests because it subjected those earning as little as $2,000 in private enterprises to new bureaucracy and fees.
* The council gave courts new power to temporarily commit those found mentally incompetent to stand trial for crimes. The period, not to exceed 48 hours, would allow officials to maintain custody while initiating proceedings for long-term commitment. The bill was in response to the October slaying of congressional intern Claude Rashad McCants, allegedly by a mentally ill man who had been found unfit to stand trial on prior criminal charges but was released pending a hearing on civil commitment.
* A bill requiring that police develop procedures for recording interrogations also passed.
Pubdate: Wed, 18 Dec 2002
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2002 The Washington Post Company
Contact: letters@washpost.com
Website: Washington Post: Breaking News, World, US, DC News & Analysis
