House OKs more severe penalty for selling drugs near parks

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- House members passed legislation Tuesday that could make the penalty for selling drugs near a park the same as that for murder -- up to life in prison.

The House voted 124-26 for legislation making it a Class A felony to sell heroin, cocaine, LSD, amphetamine or methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of city, county, state or private park.

Such felonies, like murder, are punishable by 10 to 30 years or life in prison.

Selling drugs -- regardless of whether it's near a park -- currently is a Class B felony, which carries a prison sentence of five to 15 years.

Democratic critics said the bill's 1,000-foot buffer zone would essentially encompass all of Kansas City and St. Louis and give drug dealers an incentive to move from the cities to suburban areas.

Rep. Leonard Hughes said the measure targets specific people using specific drugs in certain parts of the state, and it would make drug offenses in urban areas a more serious offense than those committed in suburban and rural parts of the state.

"This is another attempt to fill more prisons with more youths of color," said Hughes, D-Kansas City.

But Republicans said opponents' arguments that the bill unfairly targets minorities and city-dwellers does not make sense because there are parks throughout the state.

"It's complete stupidity. If you violate this law, it applies statewide, it applies to everyone in the state," said Rep. Gary Dusenberg, R-Blue Springs.

State law already allows for up to life sentences for manufacturing and selling drugs within 2,000 feet of schools, colleges and school buses.

Rep. Darrell Pollock said his bill targets only those who are breaking the law.

"We need to send the message that we are tough on crime. We need to send the message that we are tough on drugs," said Pollock, R-Lebanon.

The drug provisions are included in a larger bill that restricts access to artifacts from shipwrecks and adds criminal penalties for hunting or fishing on another's land without permission.

After several hours of debate, a Democratic amendment to eliminate the drug provisions was withdrawn without a vote.

The legislation originated in the Senate, where it will return because the House made changes. If the Senate does not accept the House's version, negotiators from the House and Senate must agree upon a compromise version.

The measure also would make state property any historically valuable shipwrecks that are at least 50 years old on navigable or formerly navigable waters.

Also, it would be a crime to hunt on private property without permission or enter private property without permission to retrieve an animal killed by a hunter. Along with criminal penalties, violators would lose their hunting and fishing privileges for a year.