LEGISLATIVE
UPDATE: HR 1258 & S 3214
Colleagues,
Since returning from the Easter Recess, action has occurred on
two significant issues affecting private investigators. Last
week the House passed HR 1258, the “Truth in Caller ID” bill.
Also last week, Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA) introduced S 3214,
the “Surreptitious Video Surveillance Act of 2010''. NCISS has
been active in responding to both of these legislative
developments.
The House of Representatives caller ID legislation would make
unlawful spoofing “with the intent to defraud or deceive”.
Because spoofing by its very nature deceives the person
receiving the call, the bill would effectively ban its use. This
is a major change from the bill that was introduced in the House
which would ban spoofing only if it was done “with the intent to
defraud or cause harm”.
NCISS immediately urged its members to contact the Senate in
support of its caller ID legislation, S-30 because that bill
only restricts spoofing with the “intent to defraud, cause harm,
or wrongfully obtain anything of value”. We are pleased with the
immediate response from NCISS members who phoned their Senators
to express opposition to the House provision. Our Washington
Representative, Larry Sabbath, has discussed the bill with the
staff of the Senate Commerce Committee handling the bill. They
informed him that the Senate will now begin to consider how to
respond to the House action and requested additional
information, which Sabbath provided. He has also discussed the
issue with the Legislative Counsel to the sponsor of S-30,
Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL).
Surveillance legislation has also just been introduced. Senator
Specter introduced the bill in the wake of an incident in
Pennsylvania where a school district allegedly engaged in
surreptitious video surveillance of a student in his bedroom by
using a remotely activated webcam on a school laptop. The bill,
according to Senator Specter’s statement on the Senate floor, is
intended to prevent “the intentional recording of visual images
of an individual in an area of a residence that is not readily
observable from a public location and in which the individual
has a reasonable expectation of privacy.”
The specific language of the bill would prevent video
surveillance where:
(1) the individual is in an area of a temporary or permanent
residence that is not readily observable from a public location;
(2) the individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy in
the area; and
(3) the visual image or images--
(A) are made without the consent of--
(i) an individual present in the area; or
(ii) a resident of the temporary or permanent residence;
The NCISS Legislative Committee has been reviewing the bill and
is concerned that because the bill amends the wiretap law, it
could be far more restrictive than intended by Senator Specter.
The “home” needs to be defined as well. Other provisions of the
bill would provide opportunities for the subject of surveillance
to allege that the surveillance was done in a home and therefore
suppress it.
NCISS has contacted Senator Specter and expressed concern that
the bill may go beyond the Senator’s intent.
We will be providing additional information to the Senator as
the language of the bill is thoroughly reviewed.
NCISS, as it has done for more than thirty years, will continue
to protect private investigators from harmful legislation.
Additional updates are forthcoming,
Jimmie Mesis
NCISS Legislative Chairman
NCISS
7501 Sparrows
Point Blvd.
Baltimore, Maryland 21219-1927
(800) 445-8408 . Fax:
(410) 388-9746
Email:
jim@nciss.org
(Permission granted to repost to other email lists and PI
association newsletters)
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