Patriot Act Alert

Tuesday, March 1, hearings will be held by both Houses of the Washington
State Legislature on Joint Memorials expressing concern about the USA
Patriot Act and urging Congress to place restrictions on it.

The House bill, HJM 4006, will be heard at 10:00 AM in Judiciary in Housing
Hearing Room B.  For more on this bill, see
http://www.leg.wa.gov/wsladm/billinfo1/dspBillSummary.cfm?billnumber=4006&ye
ar=2005

The Senate bill, SJM 8020, will be heard at 3:30 PM in Senate Hearing
Room 1. For more on this bill, see
http://www.leg.wa.gov/wsladm/billinfo1/dspBillSummary.cfm?billnumber=8020&ye
ar=2005

The key portion of both bills reads:
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Washington legislature calls on
Congress to adopt S. 1709, the SAFE Act, which is sponsored by a
bipartisan group of senators and which would amend and clarify several
provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act including:
     (a) Codifying the pre-USA PATRIOT Act standards for delayed
notice or “sneak and peek” warrants to allow these warrants if notice
of the warrant would: Endanger someone’s life or physical safety;
result in flight from prosecution; or result in destruction or
tampering with evidence; and
     (b) Requiring requests for roving wiretaps to identify either the
person or place to be wiretapped and that the suspect is present at
the place to be wiretapped, before collecting information; and
     (c) Reinstating the pre-USA PATRIOT Act standard for seizing
business and library records by requiring the Federal Bureau of
Investigation to demonstrate it has reason to believe that the person
to whom the records are related is a suspected terrorist or spy. The
SAFE Act also exempts libraries from the section of the USA PATRIOT
Act that allows access to electronic communications on the strength of
an administrative subpoena rather than a court order; and
     (d) Sunsetting the provisions allowing for: Nationwide search
warrants, requiring Congress to review and reauthorize it; delayed
notice or “sneak and peak” warrants; application of pen registers and
trap and trace devices to electronic communications; and national
security letter authority; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be
immediately transmitted to the Honorable George W. Bush, President of
the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress
from the State of Washington.

Directions and advice on testifying can be found at:
http://www1.leg.wa.gov/WorkingwithLeg

It’s not necessary to testify to show support for these bills. Filling the
hearing rooms and sign-in sheets with supporters will demonstrate the
breadth of their support. You can also contact your legislators indicating
your support of the bills.  The bills have many sponsors; if your
representatives are among them, thank them.

You have received this alert because you are on the email list of the
Friends Committee on Washington Public Policy
(http://www.quaker.org/fcwpp/).  To unsubscribe, e-mail:

To contact your FCWPP Lobbyist, Roger Kluck, email 
or call him at 206-856-4444.
 
To donate to FCWPP send your check to:
FCWPP
c/o Annie Capestaney
1333 Alvarado Terrace
Walla Walla, WA 99362

If monthly contributions work best for you, many banks will send checks
automatically without charge.

How to Contact Your Legislators:

During business hours, you can leave a message for all three of your
legislators and the Governor at the toll free hotline (the operators can
even tell you who your legislators are!) 1-800-562-6000

Write your Senator and Representatives at:
Senator ________________
PO Box 4048
Olympia, WA 98504-0482

Representative ___________
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600

Use http://dfind.leg.wa.gov/dfinder.cfm to identify your legislators.
Additional contact information for your senators can then be found at
http://www.leg.wa.gov/senate/members/default.htm, and for representatives at
http://www.leg.wa.gov/house/default.htm.