Senate anti-drug bill advances
By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Advertiser Capitol Bureau
The Senate Judiciary and Health committees yesterday advanced Senate Bill 3233, an omnibus bill designed to tackle the crystal methamphetamine epidemic.
The House Judiciary Committee pushed out a similar measure, House Bill 2003, last Tuesday.
Senate Judiciary Chairwoman Colleen Hanabusa, D-21st (Nanakuli, Makaha), said the legislation incorporates all of the suggestions proposed during a statewide series of community forums on ice that took place over the summer.
The package, Hanabusa said, "makes an affirmative statement as to what the Legislature wants to do, which is, of course, the emphasis on early education and intervention and prevention and treatment."
The legislation covers different facets of the ice problem — and would have an impact on those most affected by addicts, such as their families, employers, schools, neighbors and insurance companies.
Among some of the key elements of the legislation:
• Criminal sanctions: Adds new laws that establish penalties for the manufacture or distribution of ice that are consistent with federal law; allows the court to impose fines for the cleanup of crystal meth materials; and provides restitution for those injured by the drug's manufacturing. It also creates enhanced penalties for those who place children in danger while illegally manufacturing a controlled substance and creates a new offense of promoting controlled substances for drug trafficking in or near schools and parks.
• Treatment for first-time, non-violent drug offenders: Reaffirms 2002's Act 161, which was aimed at diverting first-time, non-violent drug offenders into treatment instead of prison. The proposal gives judges more discretion in sentencing first-time, non-violent drug offenders, regardless of prior convictions for other types of offenses.
• Drug-dealer liability: Drug users, their family members, employers and others would be able to bring civil action to recover for damages from a user or, more likely, a dealer of drugs.
• Laws affecting the workplace: Requires employers, defined as those with 15 or more employees, to provide annually "at least one hour of a substance-abuse prevention education program" for employees. The proposal's language initially called for three hours of education and required employers to reimburse fired employees up to three months of health insurance so that they can continue treatment. But the wording was taken out after businesses raised objections. The section also calls for giving tax credits to those who offer substance abuse prevention programs and for hiring persons recovering from addiction.
• Laws affecting public schools: Allows school officials to suspend students up to 92 school days as part of a "zero tolerance" policy for possessing, selling, consuming or using illegal drugs. A student caught with illegal drugs also would be assessed by a counselor to determine whether treatment is needed for abuse or dependency.
• Insurance coverage for substance abuse: Requires services and benefits provided by health insurance plans for drug addiction to be the same as that provided for physical disease or illness.
• Civil commitment for substance abuse: Allows family members to petition for a court order to send an addicted family member to involuntary outpatient treatment.
• Drug rehabilitation homes: Designates drug rehabilitation homes as a residential use of a property without need for any special permits, although a public informational meeting would need to be held first in the affected community.
• Citizen empowerment: Gives any citizen who brings a nuisance abatement suit or files a police complaint that may be drug-related the same rights and protections of victims and witnesses in criminal proceedings.
Total cost of the initiatives has been put at about $21.6 million. Legislative leaders have not yet decided how to finance them.
However, bills detailing how the money is to be spent are making their way through both houses under separate legislation.
Decision-making for House Bill 2004 is slated for the Finance Committee at 2 p.m. tomorrow. In the Senate, the Ways and Means Committee had not yet scheduled a decision-making time, but is expected to act on it by the end of the week.
Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.
