California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Joint ResolutionNo. 27


Introduced by Assembly Member Donnelly

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Allen, Harkey, Jones, Mansoor, Olsen, and Wilk)

(Coauthor: Senator Anderson)

July 2, 2013


Assembly Joint Resolution No. 27—Relative to privacy.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AJR 27, as introduced, Donnelly. Limiting Internet and Blanket Electronic Review of Telecommunications and Email Act.

This measure would urge Congress to pass and the President to sign into law the Limiting Internet and Blanket Electronic Review of Telecommunications and Email Act (LIBERT-E Act), and ensure that the American people are protected from massive invasions of their privacy.

Fiscal committee: no.

P1    1WHEREAS, Representative Justin Amash, Chairman of the
2House Liberty Caucus, and Representative John Conyers, Jr., the
3Ranking Member on the House Judiciary Committee, announced
4the introduction of bipartisan legislation to address National
5Security Agency (NSA) surveillance; and

6WHEREAS, House Resolution 2399, the Limiting Internet and
7Blanket Electronic Review of Telecommunications and Email Act
8(LIBERT-E Act), restricts the federal government’s ability under
9the Patriot Act to collect information on Americans who are not
10connected to an ongoing investigation. The bill also requires that
P2    1secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court opinions
2be made available to Congress and summaries of the opinions be
3made available to the public; and

4WHEREAS, A coalition of 32 Members of Congress joined
5Representatives Conyers and Amash in introducing the bill late
6Monday, June 17, 2013; and

7WHEREAS, In a statement, Representatives Conyers and Amash
8stated: “The recent NSA leaks indicate that the federal government
9collects phone records and intercepts electronic communications
10on a scale previously unknown to most Americans. The LIBERT-E
11Act imposes reasonable limits on the federal government’s
12surveillance”; and

13WHEREAS, Representatives Conyers and Amash also stated:
14“[The LIBERT-E Act] also makes sure that innocent Americans’
15information isn’t needlessly swept up into a government database”;
16and

17WHEREAS, Thirty-two Representatives from both sides of the
18aisle cosponsored the LIBERT-E Act; and

19WHEREAS, Representative Judy Chu of California stated:
20“Oversight conducted in secret defeats its purpose. Congress should
21be able to have an open dialogue with the American people on
22how our surveillance programs impact individual privacy. That’s
23why I support the release of unclassified reports by the
24Administration on how FISA powers are used. We must protect
25our national security operations, but we need to strike a balance
26between clandestine efforts and transparency in our society”; and

27WHEREAS, Representative Barbara Lee of California stated:
28“The right to privacy in this country in non-negotiable. While I
29believe that national security is essential, we must protect our most
30basic civil liberties and move forward in a way that does not
31sacrifice our American values and freedoms. I’m proud to be an
32original co-sponsor of this bill, which ensures that we keep a better
33balance between our privacy and our national security by limiting
34the scope of records that can be handed over and by re-establishing
35and strengthening Congress’ vital role of accountability and
36oversight of this issue”; and

37WHEREAS, Representative Zoe Lofgren of California stated:
38“Increasingly it seems surveillance laws are used in ways that do
39not always respect Americans’ Constitutional rights for privacy
40or provide adequate transparency to ensure the government is
P3    1acting appropriately. The revelations that these laws that should
2be targeting threats to our country have also been quietly used to
3collect millions of Americans’ personal information justifies the
4public’s apprehension about government abuse of surveillance
5powers. The LIBERT-E Act raises the standards needed to obtain
6personal information in national security investigations, prevents
7dragnets, and requires greater transparency on how agencies are
8using the surveillance powers Congress grants them”; and

9WHEREAS, Representative Tom McClintock, also of California,
10stated: “A free society does not depend on a police state that tracks
11the behavior of every citizen for its security. A free society depends
12instead on principles of law that protect liberty while meting out
13stern punishment to those who abuse it”; and

14WHEREAS, The LIBERT-E Act enjoys bipartisan efforts from
15hundreds of groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the
16American Civil Liberties Union, and the Republican Liberty
17Caucus urging constituents to demand support from their
18representatives; now, therefore, be it

19Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of
20California, jointly,
That the Legislature urges Congress to pass
21and the President to sign into law the Limiting Internet and Blanket
22Electronic Review of Telecommunications and Email Act, and
23ensure that the American people are protected from massive
24invasions of their privacy; and be it further

25Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
26of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United
27States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the
28Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, to the Majority
29Leader of the Senate, to the Minority Leader of the Senate, and to
30each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress
31of the United States, and to the author for appropriate distribution.



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