Surveillance Bill Dies; Small-Cells Measure Passes California Committee
A California surveillance-transparency bill failed in committee and won’t be heard again this session. The same committee passed a wireless small-cells bill pre-empting local authority in the right of way. At a Friday hearing, the Assembly Appropriations Committee held SB-21,…
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which would have required public notice and comment before using new surveillance technologies. The committee voted 12-1 to pass the small-cells bill, S-649. Afterward, SB-21 sponsor Sen. Jerry Hill (D) said surveillance transparency is an important issue that he will continue trying to advance next legislative session. The bill’s death “is a blow for the privacy and civil liberties of all Californians,” said Electronic Frontier Foundation Investigative Researcher Dave Maass. “As surveillance tools become cheaper, more widely deployed, and more sophisticated, the public has a right to know and debate what tools are being purchased and used by local police.” Legislators have a Sept. 15 deadline to pass bills.