Legislators update May 10, 2010
Colleagues,
NCISS Washington Advocate Larry Sabbath and I presented NCISS
views on three
major issues affecting private investigators on Capitol Hill
this afternoon.
In a meeting arranged by NCISS member Stu Drobny, the NCISS
members present
urged Senate Judiciary Staff members to amend S 3214, the
"Surreptitious
Video Surveillance Act" to make clear that the bill would only
apply to
video "in the residence". Staff said the bill was not intended
to restrict
video in visible yards, or even open windows.
Stu Drobny suggested an amendment that would make clear that
lawful
investigations would not be affected by the bill, however, this
was met with
hesitation. I then suggested that the wording "in the residence"
specifically be added to the bill to which they agreed and
stated that a
revised bill would be sent to us later this week confirming the
changes. The
staff, including Arlen Specter's (D-PA) original bill writer,
said they
would continue to work with outside parties to try to prevent
abusive use of
video in the home without harming legal uses of video in
surveillance.
It is important that investigators understand that this bill,
even without
any additional word changes, is specific to non-consensual
unauthorized
videotaping "inside" a residence and also does not prohibit the
use of nanny
cams.
Larry Sabbath also met with the staff of Senator Bill Nelson
(D-FL) and the
Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the
Internet to
discuss S-30 and HR 1258, the "Truth in Caller ID" bills. He
suggested that
the bills be clarified to restrict only that spoofing that
caused actual
harm and be permitted for lawful investigations. Senator
Nelson's Counsel
confirmed that was the Senator's intention when he drafted the
bill.
Larry and I also met with several offices of members of the
Subcommittee on
Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit regarding a hearing
scheduled for
Wednesday on the non lending uses of credit reports. We provided
talking
points to the Subcommittee members describing how employers and
private
investigators use the information to assist in both pre and post
employment
investigations. The "Equal Employment for All" bill, HR 3149 is
expected to
be discussed. That legislation would ban most employers from
accessing
employee credit reports. The legislation is similar to Senator
Feinstein's
amendment which is pending on the financial reform bill now
before the
Senate.
I will continue to keep the membership and the profession
apprised of any
forthcoming legislative updates.
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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