PROVIDENCE — The Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union sued General Treasurer Paul J. Tavares yesterday, challenging new regulations that allow his office to deny or reduce compensation to crime victims who have been convicted of unrelated drunken-driving or drug-dealing offenses.

The treasurer administers the state’s Crime Victim Compensation Program, which pays claims to crime victims, under certain conditions.

Over the past two years, Tavares has adopted regulations that authorize him to deny or reduce compensation if, in the preceding five years, crime victims have been convicted on charges of driving while intoxicated, selling or delivering drugs, or possessing drugs with the intent to sell or deliver them.

Steven Brown, executive director of the local ACLU affiliate, said it is “unfortunate that the general treasurer has turned a program that is supposed to aid crime victims into one that punishes them for their past misdeeds. A former drug addict who is sexually assaulted should not have to fear reduced compensation because she once sold drugs to feed her habit.”

The lawsuit seeks a court order declaring the new regulations “null, void and unenforceable.” ACLU volunteer lawyer Frederic A. Marzilli filed the suit in state Superior Court on behalf of the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Association of Rhode Island.

“The regulations discriminate and marginalize persons, many of whom have addiction disorders,” said Neil A. Corkery, the association’s executive director.

Corkery, a former state legislator, said, “If we really believe in the restorative potential of persons who receive treatment for addiction disorders, we need to abandon such negative stereotypes and regressive measures. The measure appears punitive in nature and lacking in logic in excluding individuals who, other than a prior indiscretion, appear to be assigned a double penalty.”

A spokeswoman for the treasurer’s office, Stephanie DeSilva, said Tavares adopted the drug-dealing regulation in July after a convicted drug dealer successfully appealed a denial of crime victim compensation. The drug dealer won his case in Superior Court because there was no specific provision allowing the treasurer’s office to issue a denial based on the man’s conviction, she said.

DeSilva noted the drug-dealing regulation applies to those who plead no contest or are convicted of “the illegal manufacture, sale or delivery of a controlled substance, or possession with intent to manufacture, sell or distribute a controlled substance.” She said, “We are looking at the hard-core drug dealer here — not a simple possession case.”

As for the regulation regarding driving while intoxicated, DeSilva said, “Drunken driving results in many injuries and is a crime.” Also, she noted drunken-driving victims are eligible for the Crime Victim Compensation Program.

While those are the rationales behind the new rules, DeSilva said, “We recognize that alcoholism and drug dependency are serious addiction problems.” And she noted the regulations allow the administrator of the Crime Victim Compensation Program to decide whether to deny or reduce an award.

“So it’s not an automatic denial,” DeSilva said. “It’s not a black-and-white decision. The administrator looks at the whole picture.” That means taking into account the time frame of the conviction, whether restitution has been made, and whether “an effort is being made to turn the person’s life around — and that includes rehabilitation and treatment,” she said.

In 2005, the Crime Victim Compensation Program awarded money to 263 crime victims and issued 74 denials, DeSilva said. In all, the awards totaled $4.39 million, using federal money and court-assessed fines.

Corkery said the lawsuit was filed only after groups tried, without success, to convince Tavares to rescind the new regulations. In July, the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Association, the ACLU and other groups held a news conference, calling the rules “discriminatory and mean-spirited.”

Corkery said he was concerned about “singling out DUI and drug offenses, both of which are often committed by people who are suffering from diseases — alcoholism and drug addiction.”

Brown said the lawsuit is not challenging the regulation that allows the treasurer to deny claims to people convicted of violent felonies. Rather, the suit targets only the new rules regarding drug and drunken-driving convictions, which are the only nonviolent offenses that warrant denial of victim compensation, he said.

The lawsuit claims the new regulations violate the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act because they authorize the treasurer to consider a crime victim’s nonviolent criminal background in deciding whether to award compensation.

According to the suit, “Substance abuse victims may be hesitant and deterred from making otherwise valid applications for criminal victim compensation, counter to the clear intent of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act.” And, the suit says, the new rules will “chill participation” in the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Association, curtailing “their opportunity to aid the recovery of substance abusers.”

Also, the suit claims the new regulations are “arbitrary and capricious,” in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.

Marzilli said, “The general treasurer’s amended regulations are counterproductive and an affront to anyone who has been a victim of violent crime.”

Facing term limits, Tavares is about to leave the treasurer’s office, making way for state Sen. Frank T. Caprio, who won the Nov. 7 election. “We are hopeful he will give it a fresh look,” Brown said of Caprio.

Yesterday, Caprio said, “After I have an opportunity to review the complaint and get a history of what has transpired, I’d be in a position to make a more educated comment on the issue. I would want to review any federal law and federal case law, since federal funding is a component of the compensation program.”

Caprio, who will be sworn in Tuesday, said, “If the complaint was just filed, I would think it won’t have to be answered until my tenure.” He said, “I’m going to request the relevant documents and cases that have caused it to become an issue.”