Texas Poised To Pass Unprecedented Email Privacy Bill

An anonymous reader writes "A bill has reached the desk of Texas Governor Rick Perry that would give stronger privacy protections to email accounts than exist in any other state. If Perry signs it (or simply declines to veto it before June 16th), the legislation would force law enforcement agencies to obtain a warrant before reading somebody's email, even if the email has been sitting on the server for a long time. 'As we've noted many times before, there are no such provisions in federal law once the e-mail has been opened or if it has been sitting in an inbox, unopened, for 180 days. In March 2013, the Department of Justice acknowledged in a Congressional hearing that this distinction no longer makes sense and the DOJ would support revisions to ECPA.' This bill passed the state legislature unanimously. The article points out that the legislation won't protect from federal investigations, but it will set a precedent that the U.S. Congress will surely notice. An attorney with the EFF said, 'It's significant as proof that privacy reform is not only needed, but also politically-feasible with broad bipartisan support. And hopefully that will impact federal ECPA reform efforts by getting people on both of sides of the political aisle to work together to make meaningful electronic privacy reform a reality. The more states that pass similar legislation, the more pressure it will put on Congress to keep up with the changing legal landscape.'"

Comments

Texas leads the way, again

[SplashMyBandit]

Lots of folks like to mis-characterize Texas and Texans, but as a foreigner they seem to be doing plenty of things right. Their state economy is not borked like California, they have low tax, they value individual rights more than overbearing 'nanny' governance, and they have good political leadership. Ted Cruz for Prez 2016 would not be a bad choice it seems - he's very smart and would stop the current rot in DC.

Re:Texas leads the way, again

[ArcherB]

If you think that Ted Cruz would be a serious presidential contender then you have no idea what you are talking about. I am a Texan and he is a joke to most of the state. As much eye rolling as he causes within the state, he would cause even more than Rick Perry did on the national stage. I am not saying your completely wrong, but please do a bit more research before thinking Cruz (or Perry) are responsible for much of anything that is right with our state.

Ted Cruz is a "joke to most of the state"? Tell me, genius, how did he win his Senatorial election by such a wide margin? He may be a joke in YOUR circles, but everyone I speak to thinks the man is brilliant, with the exception of the most rabid liberals who think that it is OK for the IRS to target conservatives for no other reason than they are conservatives.

Re:Texas leads the way, again

[girlintraining]

Lots of folks like to mis-characterize Texas and Texans, but as a foreigner they seem to be doing plenty of things right.

This legislation would only affect organizations and individuals within the state of Texas, whose customers are also within the State of Texas, when dealing with local and state authorities. And even with that very significant limitation, the fact that internet traffic is, by definition, interstate, means that this piece of legislation has next to zero chance of surviving in Federal court. Federal law and jurisdiction trumps state law; And all a court needs to say to put an end to this is say "Interstate commerce! Congress only! Denied."

Their state economy is not borked like California,

Off topic, but I'll bite. Texas is ranked 9 and California 14 in terms of federal tax dollars contributed versus taken as of 2007. Both are net positive, and within 1 standard deviation. Neither state economy is "borked".

they have low tax,

Continuing to go off topic... There's at least a million different taxes. Can you be more specific on which one?

they value individual rights more than overbearing 'nanny' governance,

The most important right, the right to life, is apparently eschewed -- Texas murders its own citizens at a rate higher than the rest of the country combined and has won numerous dubious awards for its human rights abuses, especially in prison. Whatever their values, their actions speak to a marked lack of respect for human life, a fact often highlighted in international press.

and they have good political leadership.

I'm not even sure how to approach this; It's fractally flamebait-worthy, if only because the popular opinion is that "good" should never appear in the same sentence as "political leadership", which itself is popularly held to be an oxymoron.

Ted Cruz for Prez 2016 would not be a bad choice it seems - he's very smart and would stop the current rot in DC.

Oooh, so epically off-topic now... le sigh. Okay then. Yes, another graduate of Harvard Law and Princeton will surely clean up the 'rot' of all the other politicians in Congress, most of whom also hold Ivy-league degrees. And I'm the Queen of England. And I don't want to vote for a man who thinks communists teachers at his alma matter are plotting to overthrow the government and often resorts to wild accusations of impropriety towards his opponents -- like suggesting a nominee to the secretary of defense position was accepting bribe money from North Korea. The dude's got a screw loose -- if you want to show how Texas is full of competent and rational people, make a better choice.

Re:Texas leads the way, again

[ArcherB]

Lots of folks like to mis-characterize Texas and Texans, but as a foreigner they seem to be doing plenty of things right. Their state economy is not borked like California, they have low tax, they value individual rights more than overbearing 'nanny' governance, and they have good political leadership. Ted Cruz for Prez 2016 would not be a bad choice it seems - he's very smart and would stop the current rot in DC.

You are correct. I work with people from all over the country. These people have had to move to Texas because they couldn't find jobs in their original state. All of the, ALL of them absolutely love it here, even though they hate the weather nine months out of the year (Michiganders don't do well at 105). Most simply can't believe the freedom that they have here that they never knew they missed where they came from. "You mean I can just walk into a Walmart and buy a shotgun?" "I won't get arrested for having a gun rack on my truck?" "My state vehicle inspection was only $15. Where do I pay the rest of it?" "Why do people keep calling me offering me jobs that pay more money. Is this some sort of scam?" And finally, "I think there is a mistake. The company didn't take out for my state income tax."

Don't listen to these other yahoos. They are mad because the majority of Texans value freedom and values over a strong central government and political correctness. Our education system is fine. The negative numbers they'll throw at you is due to the fact that Texas has one of the largest non-English speaking student population in the country. As for property tax, yeah, it's high, but it's nothing compared to the income taxes paid in other states. And to the AC that said that Texas is anti-science has no idea what he's talking about. Texas has one of the largest tech sectors in the country. "Texas" is even in the name of many of these tech companies. "Texas Instruments" ring a Dell... I mean BELL?

Texas is an awesome place to live, provided all our imports don't use their voting power to turn Texas into the places they came from.

and yes, Ted Cruz would make an awesome president. It's amazing how these people try to paint him as the new leader of the Republican party. Cruz challenged and defeated Rick Perry's hand pick successor for Kay Bailey Hutchinson's Senate seat. He took on the Texas Republican political machine and won. It's funny that these liberals constantly scream for someone to change the Republican party, but as soon as someone does so, they do everything they can to vilify him. Ted Cruz is the child of Cuban immigrants. He was born in Cuba and educated at Princeton. But because he is the Texas Senator and his name ends with an (R), they paint him as some sort of ignorant, backwoods, hick.

Re:Texas leads the way, again

[ArcherB]

I think that makes you #1 in (Citation Needed)'s

You forgot #1 in refining, which would account for the vast majority of the issues you site (if true). Also, being such a big damn state, it doesn't surprise that Texas pollutes more than, say, Rhode Island. Do you like that plastic keyboard you are typing on? Odds are that the oil used to make it was in part either pumped from or refined in Texas. That makes you part of the problem. Stop using your keyboard, computer or anything else that uses plastic or anything else made from those evil, polluting fossil fuels or STFU.

As for children in poverty and illiteracy, again, if true, it would be due to the large number of immigrants living in the state. For example, Hidalgo County, in far South Texas is number 1 for percentage of people on food stamps at 29%. By the way, that county has to share it's #1 status with the Bronx. Hidalgo County Texas can blame immigration from Mexico. What's the Bronx's excuse? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidalgo_County,_Texas)

  #1 in executions? Yeah, we are proud of that one.

And again, with these and the others, (Citation Needed).

Re:Texas leads the way, again

[Anonymous Coward]

Education:
Census: Texas High School Graduation Rate Worst in Nation:
http://www.statemaster.com/graph/edu_hig_sch_dip_or_hig_by_per-high-school-diploma-higher-percentage

Texas DOE: Texas Ranks 49th in Literacy, 49th in Verbal SATs, 46th in Math SATs
http://www.window.state.tx.us/comptrol/wwstand/wws0512ed/

Texas Teen Birth Rate Highest in Nation:
http://www.statemaster.com/graph/hea_tee_bir_rat_per_100-birth-rate-per-1-000

Poverty:
Census: 17% of Texans Live Below the Poverty Level.
http://www.statemaster.com/graph/eco_per_bel_pov_lev-economy-percent-below-poverty-level

Dept of Labor: 9.5% of Texans Paid At or Below Minimum Wage - Nations Highest:
http://www.bls.gov/ro6/fax/minwage_tx.htm

Census: 22% of Texas Children Live Below the Poverty Level:
http://www.statemaster.com/graph/eco_per_of_chi_bel_pov_lev-percent-children-below-poverty-level

Texas 2nd in Nation for Bankruptcy Filings:
http://www.statemaster.com/graph/eco_ban_fil-economy-bankruptcy-filings

Census: Texas Ranks 47th in Percentage of Households with Retirement Income:
http://www.statemaster.com/graph/eco_per_of_hou_wit_ret_inc-economy-percent-households-retirement-income

EPI: Texas Ranks 2nd in Income Disparity
http://www.epi.org/publications/entry/studies_pulling_apart_2006/

Uninsured:

Census: Texas leads the nation in uninsured people.
http://www.statemaster.com/graph/hea_cha_in_num_uni-health-change-in-number-uninsured

Texas Ranks Last in Overall Child Health Status
http://www.statemaster.com/graph/hea_ove_chi_hea_sta-health-overall-child-status

Texas is #2 in Suicides:
http://www.statemaster.com/graph/hea_cha_in_num_uni-health-change-in-number-uninsured

Dallas News: Texas Leads Nation In Child Abuse Deaths
http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/10/texas-leads-the-nation-in-chil.html

Texas Executions:
http://www.statemaster.com/graph/cri_cap_pun_tot_exe_sin_193-punishment-total-executions-since-1930

Texas Incarcerations:
http://www.statemaster.com/graph/cri_pri_und_the_jur_of_sta_or_fed_cor_aut-jurisdiction-state-federal-correctional-authorities

Census: Texas Ranks 2nd in Uninsured Children:
http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GRTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-_box_head_nbr=R2702&-ds_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_&-_lang=en&-redoLog=false&-format=US-30&-mt_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_R2701_US30&-CONTEXT=grt

Census: 24% of Texans are Uninsured:
http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GRTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-_box_head_nbr=R2701&-ds_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_&-_lang=en&-redoLog=false&-format=US-30&-mt_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_R2702_US30&-CONTEXT=grt

Re:Texas leads the way, again

[cold fjord]

No, it's terrible because they teach creationism as fact and ignore well accepted science. This is but one example.

One example of pure BS? Is there any chance the lying nitwits will give it a rest any time soon?

Chapter 112. Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Science - Subchapter C. High School

(7) Science concepts. The student knows evolutionary theory is a scientific explanation for the unity and diversity of life. The student is expected to:

(A) analyze and evaluate how evidence of common ancestry among groups is provided by the fossil record, biogeography, and homologies, including anatomical, molecular, and developmental;

(B) analyze and evaluate scientific explanations concerning any data of sudden appearance, stasis, and sequential nature of groups in the fossil record;

(C) analyze and evaluate how natural selection produces change in populations, not individuals;

(D) analyze and evaluate how the elements of natural selection, including inherited variation, the potential of a population to produce more offspring than can survive, and a finite supply of environmental resources, result in differential reproductive success;

(E) analyze and evaluate the relationship of natural selection to adaptation and to the development of diversity in and among species;

(F) analyze and evaluate the effects of other evolutionary mechanisms, including genetic drift, gene flow, mutation, and recombination; and

(G) analyze and evaluate scientific explanations concerning the complexity of the cell.

This shouldn't be necessary

[Intropy]

US Constitution Amendment 14: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

There's no legitimate way that government could be reading these emails 180 days and "opened" or not without a probably cause warrant. I understand the fact is they do, so it's great that Texas is passing the law to stymie that abuse, but how is it possibly justified to begin with? It's right there plain to read. That's prohibited. Has nobody taken it to court?