By The TimesLedger
The state lawmakers have gone home for the summer without making any progress on two issues of vital importance. Once again the legislature has failed to reform the oppressive Rockefeller drug laws. These laws mandate substantial prison time for defendants found guilty of selling relatively small quantities of illegal drugs, even first offenders.
There are numerous stories about people arrested for the first time being sentenced to 15 years or more in prison for a single sale of illegal drugs. With the exception of the prosecutors who use the drug laws to get low level dealers to assist in the prosecution of major drug lords, most experts find the laws excessive and unfair.
And once again the Legislature failed to address the problems of rent control and stabilization in New York City. On the one hand are the senior citizens on fixed incomes who say they cannot afford the annual increase in rents. On the other hand are the landlords and developers who claim that the current laws discourage the building of new apartments and thus drive up the cost for existing apartments.
There are no easy answers to these issues but that doesn't excuse the Legislature for not making a more sincere effort to resolve these matters.
