SJR 22-OPPOSE WARRANTLESS DATA COLLECTION  2:07:01 PM CHAIR COGHILL reconvened the meeting and announced the consideration of SJR 22. "Opposing the warrantless collection of telephone call data by the National Security Agency." This was the first hearing. 2:07:25 PM SENATOR CATHY GIESSEL, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, sponsor of SJR 22, stated that SJR 22 addresses another form of federal overreach called warrantless data collection. This is the National Security Agency (NSA) executing a dragnet over telephone calls made by private citizens, which is akin to the thought police in 1984 and an invasion of privacy. She deferred further introduction to Ms. Conway. 2:08:40 PM JANE CONWAY, Staff, Senator Cathy Giessel, introduced SJR 22 on behalf of the sponsor, reading the following into the record: In a day and age where private citizens, business, and even our local and federal governments rely on digital and telecommunication, there is something a bit chilling in realizing that those communications may not be secure or private. We have all seen and heard the news stories about the National Security Agency (NSA) and their massive data collection program. United States District Court Judge Richard Leon ruled that the NSA's program, bulk collection, and querying of telephone record metadata is likely unconstitutional and violates privacy rights. Judge Leon said, "I cannot imagine a more indiscriminate and arbitrary invasion than this systematic and high-tech collection and retention of personal data on virtually every citizen for purpose of querying and analyzing it without prior judicial approval. Surely, such a program infringes on "that degree of privacy" that the Founders enshrined in the Fourth Amendment." The NSA was founded in 1952, with a strict focus on overseas rather than domestic surveillance. Unchecked and unrestrained, this agency has grown into the nation's largest intelligence agency and has broken privacy rules or overstepped its legal authority thousands of times each year since Congress granted the agency broad new powers in 2008. An internal audit, dated May 2012, counted 2,776 incidents (in just 12 months) of unauthorized collection, storage, access to or distribution of legally protected communications. While most of these incidents were unintended, many involved failures of due diligence or violations of standard operating procedure. The most serious incidents included a violation of a court order and unauthorized use of data of more than 3,000 Americans and green-card holders. As well as an incident in February 2012, that involved the unlawful retention of 3,032 files that the surveillance court had ordered the NSA to destroy, in these files were an undisclosed number of telephone call records. Despite quadrupling of the NSA's oversight staff after a series of significant violations in 2009, the rate of infractions increased in the following years. From the number of recorded compliance issues, there is no reliable way to calculate how many Americans have had their communications improperly collected, stored, or distributed by the NSA. The Constitution of the United States protects individuals against the abuse of government authority and the Fourth Amendment guards against unreasonable searches and seizure and lays out specific requirement for warrants. The Fifth Amendment requires that individuals may not be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. These NSA activities are a violation of the Constitution and strip Alaskans and Americans of their liberty. SJR 22 urges the Federal Government to end the mass telephone call data collection program and to eliminate all stored metadata. It urges the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to declassify past opinions and urges future opinions to be released to the public. Finally, SJR 22 finds the NSA's activities a troubling example of federal overreach and this Legislature will in no way assist the NSA in facilitating their unconstitutional programs. 2:12:39 PM MS. CONWAY noted that the packets contain articles on NSA activities over the last year, and today she sent the committee aide the prerecorded testimony from Edward Snowden to the European Parliament. CHAIR COGHILL asked if she was aware of recent court cases challenging NSA activities. MS. CONWAY said she was aware of a lawsuit filed by U.S. Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky and another that was filed by Microsoft, Facebook, Yahoo, and Google. CHAIR COGHILL described SJR 22 as a worthwhile request dealing with the privacy of citizens of the U.S. and Alaska. 2:17:13 PM SENATOR DYSON moved to report SJR 22 from committee with individual recommendations and attached fiscal note(s). CHAIR COGHILL announced that without objection, SJR 22 moved from the Senate Judiciary Standing Committee.