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House Bill Analysis HJM 4006

Washington State

House of Representatives

Office of Program Research

BILL

ANALYSIS

Judiciary Committee

HJM 4006

protecting civil liberties.

• Calls on Congress to pass the SAFE Act, which amends many of the surveillance and

search-and-seizure provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001.

Hearing Date: 3/1/05

Staff: Christopher Abbott (786-7119).

Background:

The USA PATRIOT Act

In 2001, Congress passed the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate

Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act ("USA PATRIOT Act" or "PATRIOT

Act") in response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

The government's expanded investigation and search authority includes the following:

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House Bill Analysis HJM 4006

(FISA) appoints a special court to issue, among other things, warrants for foreign intelligence

and terrorism investigations that need not specify the identity of the targeted person or the

locations to be monitored. The PATRIOT Act further allows the government to require any

person to provide technical assistance or use of facilities to execute these warrants under

certain circumstances.

• Delayed Notice Warrants (Section 213). Under the PATRIOT Act, federal law enforcement

can execute a search warrant in any criminal investigation without providing immediate

terrorism investigation. The PATRIOT Act expands this authority to require release of any

"tangible thing," including books, records, and documents, from any person or entity, so long

as the investigation is not based solely on First Amendment-protected activities.

• Use of Pen Registers and "Trap-and-Trace" Devices (Section 216). Pen registers are devices

that record the numbers dialed by a surveillance target, and trap-and-trace devices record the

telephone numbers of incoming calls. The PATRIOT Act permits use of these devices

against citizens and permanent residents if the information is found relevant to a terrorism or

foreign intelligence investigation not based solely on First Amendment-protected activities

and expands their use by allowing the government to apply a court order authorizing use of

these devices to any person whose assistance may facilitate execution of the order.

Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to require phone companies and communications service

providers to release transactional records and subscriber information if the FBI Director or a

designee certified that the information was relevant to a foreign intelligence or terrorism

investigation, and there were "specific and articulable facts" showing the target of the

surveillance to be involved in clandestine intelligence or terrorism. The PATRIOT Act

expanded this authority by eliminating the "specific and articulable facts" requirement, so

long as the investigation is not based solely on First Amendment-protected activities.

The SAFE Act

Act), which amends many of the surveillance provisions of the PATRIOT Act. The SAFE Act

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House Bill Analysis HJM 4006

before a court may issue a "sneak-and-peek" warrant, requires notice within seven days

unless good cause is shown, and sunsets the provision at the end of 2005.

• Library and Business Records. Requires a court issuing an order authorizing a records

release to first find that specific and articulable facts exist indicating the target of the

investigation is involved in terrorism or is an agent of a foreign power.

• Pen Register, Trap-and-Trace, and Nationwide Search Warrant Authority. Sunsets these

provisions at the end of 2005.

Summary of Bill:

consistent with protection of civil liberties and finds that preservation of constitutional rights and

national security are not mutually exclusive. Therefore, the Legislature affirms its opposition to

global terrorism and its commitment to protecting civil rights and calls on Congress to pass the

SAFE Act.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Not requested.