This evening as the legislative session heads into its final week, Representative Arthur J. O’Neill (R-69) stood in opposition to a bill which reduces the size of drug-free zones around schools and daycares statewide from 1500 feet to 300 feet.

O’Neill, who supported legislation creating the original drug free zone in 1989, stood with other Republicans in an effort to oppose the measure.

“Sometimes I think it is forgotten about the impact drugs have on the lives of those who are addicted to them,” said Rep. O’Neill.  “There is a huge cost to society both in economic and human terms.  In each of these cases the path to this destruction began with someone who sold drugs to a young person to start them down that road to addiction. When it comes to the problem of drugs, prevention is the key.  After all, the purpose is to keep children from becoming addicted to drugs.  It is for that purpose that these drug free zones were created.  Reducing their size reduces their effectiveness.”

O’Neill noted that advocates of the bill suggested that in most urban areas that are densely populated the entire geographic area of the community technically falls within a demarcated “drug-free zone,” therefore reducing the likelihood that drug dealers will feel any additional restraint from the law that acts as motivation to avoid schools and daycares.

“It’s pretty simple,” said Rep. O’Neill.  “This bill reduces the penalty for illegal drug use, possession and sale.  It doesn’t do anything else.”

The current penalty for using or possessing with intent to use drug paraphernalia (other than in relation to less than one-half ounce of marijuana) is a class C misdemeanor punishable by up to three months in prison, a fine of up to $500 or both.  Delivering, possessing or manufacturing them with intent to deliver is a class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison, a fine of $2,000, or both.  The enhanced penalties mandate one year in prison for using illegal drug paraphernalia in a Drug-Free Zone, two years in prison for possession, and three years in prison for selling, manufacturing or distributing.

By a vote of 78-65, an amendment which became the bill was approved despite opposition by all Republicans and a handful of Democrats.  After lengthy debate, the bill, HB 6511, An Act Concerning the Recommendations of the Connecticut Sentencing Commission Regarding the Enhanced Penalty for the Sale or Possession of Drugs near a Schools, Day Care Centers, and Public Housing Project was “passed temporarily” meaning it was withdrawn for the time being, but could resurface.

The bill now heads to the Democratic-controlled Senate.  This session of the Connecticut General Assembly will adjourn on June 5^th, 2013.

At the conclusion of a seven-hour House debate through the night which ended at 5:45 a.m., Representatives Arthur J. O’Neill (R-69) voted in opposition to a bill which would require the State Department of Motor Vehicles to issue valid Connecticut driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants who reside in the state in violation of federal immigration laws.

“The issue of undocumented immigrants illegally driving is a real concern and legislation which makes such sweeping policy change should be handled much differently,” said Rep. O’Neill.  “Instead of developing a collaborative measure which has gone through the committee process we have instead been presented with legislation which leaves more questions than it answers.  We don’t know how many people this will impact.  Many questions about the implementation of the bill went unanswered or were answered incorrectly.  This is why we offered an amendment to require a study so we can know exactly what the facts are.”

Republicans introduced a number of amendments which were in turn defeated on a partisan basis.  One such amendment would have created a task force to study the process and procedure of granting such licenses, and would have allowed it to be implemented at an accelerated timeline after review. 

O’Neill said that among the many failings of the legislation is an alarming lack of a mechanism to validate where an individual is originally from, or where they currently reside.  It provides an incentive for out-of-state felons to move to Connecticut because there is no attempt to ascertain if there is any criminal record for the applicant outside the boundaries of Connecticut.  It also allows unverifiable documents such as emails to suffice as valid forms of proving residence.

There are an estimated 50,000- 250,000 undocumented aliens who might be made eligible for a state driver’s license under this legislation, and as this state would be the only one on the East Coast of the United States to enact such a law, our state would instantly become a magnet for undocumented aliens from across the country seeking to obtain this documentation which would convey legitimacy upon them. Only two other states issue driver’s licenses to illegal aliens: Washington State and New Mexico and those states restrict the availability far more that the bill voted on last night.

A poll in March of this year conducted by Quinnipiac University found that 65% of state residents opposed giving driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.

The bill passed by a vote of 74-55 and now moves on to the State Senate for action there.

With less than two weeks to go in the 2013 session of the Connecticut General Assembly, Rep. Arthur J. O’Neill (R-69) needed to do some behind-the-scenes work to keep vital Southbury Training School farmland preservation legislation on track.  Rep. O’Neill successfully shepherded the bill through the State House of Representatives last week.

The bill, HB 6542, An Act Concerning the preservation of Farmland at the Southbury Training School, would preserve and protect land owned by the Southbury Training School, and ensure its continued use for agricultural purposes.  After House passage, the bill went to the Senate, where it mysteriously was sent to the legislature’s Human Services Committee.

“A move like that this late in the session can be the death of any bill,” said Rep. O’Neill.  “It required some work to get it back to the Senate so it can be passed before the session adjourns.”

Representative O’Neill met with members of the Human Service Committee from both parties, working successfully to ensure its passage there and return to the Senate this afternoon. 

The bill now awaits action in the Senate with thirteen days remaining before the June 5^th adjournment.

“This bill represents many years of work on behalf of myself and many others, and I will be doing all I can to make sure it gets through the Senate and reaches the Governor, who has expressed his support for the measure as well,” said O’Neill.