The New York State
Lobbying Commission ended settlement talks with Russell Simmons and Benjamin Chavis,
of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network.
The settlement
talks were in relation to a federal lawsuit Simmons and Chavis filed contesting
the states rights to investigate whether or not Simmons, Chavis and the Hip-Hop
Summit Action Network were illegally lobbying to change the Rockefeller drug
laws.
The drug laws call
for harsh sentencing for certain types of drug possession violations, which
many feel target black and hispanic males.