Arizona’s state senate panel approved a bill withdrawing state support for intelligence agencies’ collection of metadata and banning the use of warrantless data in courts. The panel becomes the first legislative body in US to try and thwart NSA spying.
The bill will now have to be approved by majority of the Senate
Rules committee before it can move on to the full senate. It
prohibits Arizona public employees and departments from helping
intelligence agencies collect records of phone-calls and emails,
as well as metadata (information on where and when the phone
calls were made).
It also proscribes the use of information obtained warrants in
state courts.
The bill is entitled the 4th Amendment Protection Act and was
introduced by Republican Senator Kelli Ward of Lake Havasu City.
It was passed on Monday by the Senate’s Government and
Environment committee with a 4-2 vote.
"The 10th Amendment allows states to stand up against
unconstitutional federal law," Ward said, as cited by AP.
"It's a state issue because many times the NSA is turning
that information over to our local and state law enforcement and
using that in cases that are basic criminal prosecutions, not
anything to do with terrorism."
The bill faced significant opposition from state agencies,
however, raising fears the legislation could make Arizona
vulnerable in case of a terrorist attack. This concern was voiced
by Lyle Mann, director of the Arizona Peace Officers Standards
and Training Board.
“An officer could be given information — important
information: a shooting, a terrorist attack, whatever it is you
want to talk about - but they cannot confirm that the information
came from a warrant-covered source. But if they do nothing with
the information, something bad is going to happen,” Mann
said as cited by Capitol Media Services.
Ward responded by saying that if there was a real threat there
would be no problem for the police in obtaining a warrant to
seize whatever information they needed. She added that allowing
warrantless gathering of metadata was “a slippery slope” to a
loss of individual rights.
“We can’t sacrifice our liberty in the name of security. That
is one of the main things I’m trying to balance. I don’t think we
should be giving up liberties, especially liberties that are
guaranteed to us in our Constitution under our Fourth Amendment
rights in the interest of security, even if it is terrorism or
child pornography,” Ward said.
The bill is based on model legislation drafted by the OffNow
Coalition, a civil liberties group, opposing NSA surveillance,
which believes the bill’s most important part is prohibiting the
use of warrantless information in courts.
“While Arizona might not be able to physically stop the NSA
and other federal agencies from collecting our data without a
warrant, legislation such as this can significantly reduce the
practical effect of what they are trying to do with it. Namely,
use it within the states for non-terror criminal cases, which is
a gross violation of the 4th Amendment,” Shane Trejo of
OffNow said as posted at the group’s website.
Critics of the bill say it could be unconstitutional, as it
challenges the supremacy of the federal government.
"The federal law is supreme and the state has to follow
it," said Paul Bender, a constitutional law professor at
Arizona state University's law school, as cited by AP.
Even if passed by the Arizona state senate, the bill could still
be blocked by federal courts, as previously happened with the
state’s efforts to control immigration reform and push the limits
of abortion restrictions.