WOW. During the hearing, Rep. Salahuddin said he'd continue to engage in stakeholder discussions to "strengthen the bill significantly" -- exactly what we were hoping to hear.

So it's a great time to thank him!

If you emailed him already, you can just do a reply-all and thank him for his comments about engaging in discussions to strengthen the bill significantly

Or, here's an action with a suggested script.

https://www.takeaction.network/xactions/48077

#waleg #flock #surveillance

WOW. During the hearing, Rep. Salahuddin said he'd continue to engage in stakeholder discussions to "strengthen the bill significantly" -- exactly what we were hoping to hear.

So it's a great time to thank him!

If you emailed him already, you can just do a reply-all and thank him for his comments about engaging in discussions to strengthen the bill significantly

Or, here's an action with a suggested script.

https://www.takeaction.network/xactions/48077

#waleg #flock #surveillance

#waleg update: SB 6002, the Driver Privacy Act (regulating Flock and other ALPRs) has an exec session this morning in the Civil Rights & Judiciary committee. The hearing starts at 10:30 but there are several bills before 6002 so it's hard to predict the exact timing.

https://www.tvw.org/watch/?eventID=2026021387

#flock #alpr #surveillance

#waleg update: SB 6002, the Driver Privacy Act (regulating Flock and other ALPRs) has an exec session this morning in the Civil Rights & Judiciary committee. The hearing starts at 10:30 but there are several bills before 6002 so it's hard to predict the exact timing.

https://www.tvw.org/watch/?eventID=2026021387

#flock #alpr #surveillance

I'm live-skeeting the SB 6002 (Flock/ALPR regulation) hearing over on Blacksky - they're still talking about other bills, but SB 6002 hopefully be on soon.

https://blacksky.community/profile/did:plc:g5il2f5ugcgv4cdliprznexb/post/3mf5gv5bfuc2z has a link to the video, the thread has some comments from bill sponsor Sen. Trudeau

#flock #surveillance #waleg

I'm live-skeeting the SB 6002 (Flock/ALPR regulation) hearing over on Blacksky - they're still talking about other bills, but SB 6002 hopefully be on soon.

https://blacksky.community/profile/did:plc:g5il2f5ugcgv4cdliprznexb/post/3mf5gv5bfuc2z has a link to the video, the thread has some comments from bill sponsor Sen. Trudeau

#flock #surveillance #waleg

In case you're wondering why we're not sure if the bill will get a hearing in Transportation ...

If the fiscal note (budgetary impact) of a bill is above a certain threshold, after it goes through the policy committee it needs to be heard by a fiscal committee like Transportation (or Appropriations, but since this is driver-related and potentially affects WashDOT it makes sense for it to go to Transportation).

Bill sponsors generally prefer to avoid going through a fiscal committee, because especially with such a challenging budgetary situation for the stte, that's where a lot of bills die. In the Senate, the Law & Justice committee removed funding for oversight by the State Auditor and Attorney General to avoid going to a fiscal committee. Good thing police departments and other government agencies never try to bend the rules or anything like that!

But that was the Senate, and now we're in the House. The latest fiscal note (filed on 2/11) estimates that the bill will decrease revenues to Washington State University and Evergreen State College by $1.75 million this biennium (two-year period, which is how the legislature does budgets). And it also estimates additional expenses of over $2.8 million, including $1.8 million from WashDOT and abiout $900,000 from institutions of higher education.

https://fnspublic.ofm.wa.gov/FNSPublicSearch/GetPDF?packageID=76735

My guess is that the big numbers are laying the groundwork for asking for an exemption. We will certainly be pushing back -- in fact, here's one of our talking points in the action

"Remove the authorization for institutes of higher education to use ALPRs that was added in the Senate. Students at community colleges, technical colleges, state colleges, regional universities, and the University of Washington are frequently targeted by ICE and CBP – and by law enforcement as protestors."

But who knows which way the committee will go. If they keep the authorized. use the Senate added but grant the exemptions to reduce the fiscal note, the bill might well be able to avoid to Transportation., Time will tell.

#waleg

RE: https://pnw.zone/@waprivacy/116088306220124097

If you're in Washington state, tomorrow's 8:00 am hearing on SB 6002 (Flock/ALPR regulation) might be your last chance to "sign in" or submit written testimony.

(It's possible there will be another hearing in Transportation, but we don't yet know if that's going to happen.

Of course, there will still be opportunities to email and call your legislators as well. But "signing in" is an easy and effective way to send a messge to the whole committee, and written testimony (unlike email) is available to the entire legislature.

In any case ... tonight's a good time to take action!

#waleg

RE: https://pnw.zone/@waprivacy/116088306220124097

If you're in Washington state, tomorrow's 8:00 am hearing on SB 6002 (Flock/ALPR regulation) might be your last chance to "sign in" or submit written testimony.

(It's possible there will be another hearing in Transportation, but we don't yet know if that's going to happen.

Of course, there will still be opportunities to email and call your legislators as well. But "signing in" is an easy and effective way to send a messge to the whole committee, and written testimony (unlike email) is available to the entire legislature.

In any case ... tonight's a good time to take action!

#waleg

#waleg update: There's a committee hearing tomorrow morning on SB 6002, the Driver Privacy Act, regulating Flock and other ALPRs.

If you're in Washington, please sign in OTHER (Strengthen) - and consider also providing written testimony. The action has details, links to sign in, and talking points. This thread has the highlights and direct links if you don't want to use the ones in the action (1/N)

https://www.takeaction.network/xactions/47677

#waleg update: There's a committee hearing tomorrow morning on SB 6002, the Driver Privacy Act, regulating Flock and other ALPRs.

If you're in Washington, please sign in OTHER (Strengthen) - and consider also providing written testimony. The action has details, links to sign in, and talking points. This thread has the highlights and direct links if you don't want to use the ones in the action (1/N)

https://www.takeaction.network/xactions/47677

#waleg update: the House still hasn't voted on HB 1834, which would require age verification for access to "addictive feeds" on social networks -- but leadership is trying to push it through.

So if you're in Washington, please contact your legislators! And if you've already contacted them once about this bill ... please contact them again!

https://www.takeaction.network/xactions/47675?ref=47

#waleg update: the House still hasn't voted on HB 1834, which would require age verification for access to "addictive feeds" on social networks -- but leadership is trying to push it through.

So if you're in Washington, please contact your legislators! And if you've already contacted them once about this bill ... please contact them again!

https://www.takeaction.network/xactions/47675?ref=47

Another age verification action in Washington state! HB 1834 is on the House floor calendar, and they may vote on it as early as this afternoon. If you're a Washington resident, please contact your state Represestentatives and ask them to vote NO on HB 1834!

https://www.takeaction.network/xactions/47267

#waleg #privacy

Another age verification action in Washington state! HB 1834 is on the House floor calendar, and they may vote on it as early as this afternoon. If you're a Washington resident, please contact your state Represestentatives and ask them to vote NO on HB 1834!

https://www.takeaction.network/xactions/47267

#waleg #privacy

RE: https://infosec.exchange/@thenexusofprivacy/116045129087836176

If you've noticed I've been quieter than usual here ... it's because the Washington state legislative session has been all-consuming ever since it started in early January. This article looks at the current state of play on the 10+ bills I've testified on -- and since I approach legislative activism as a full-contact sport, I've also been organizing on all of them.

Results so far are mixed. Good news is that we've killed two odious age verification bills -- including the one based on Texas' horrible law, and the other based on the even worse Mississippi law that would have required age verification on Mastodon and every other social network, forum, and chat room. On the other hand, the bills prohibiting surveillance pricing is also dead, which is a huge disappointment. The bill regulating AI use in therapy also didn't make it out of its initial policy committee. Big tech's lobbyists have a lot of influence here ...

#waleg

RE: https://infosec.exchange/@thenexusofprivacy/116045129087836176

If you've noticed I've been quieter than usual here ... it's because the Washington state legislative session has been all-consuming ever since it started in early January. This article looks at the current state of play on the 10+ bills I've testified on -- and since I approach legislative activism as a full-contact sport, I've also been organizing on all of them.

Results so far are mixed. Good news is that we've killed two odious age verification bills -- including the one based on Texas' horrible law, and the other based on the even worse Mississippi law that would have required age verification on Mastodon and every other social network, forum, and chat room. On the other hand, the bills prohibiting surveillance pricing is also dead, which is a huge disappointment. The bill regulating AI use in therapy also didn't make it out of its initial policy committee. Big tech's lobbyists have a lot of influence here ...

#waleg

#waleg 2026 at the midpoint: surveillance, privacy, AI, and age verification legislation overview

https://privacy.thenexus.today/waleg-2026-overview/

Washington's legislative session has been in high gear ever since it started on January 12, and as of today we're almost exactly halfway through. So it seems like a good time for an update.

I've testified on almost a dozen bills so far, including privacy and surveillance, AI, and age verification. The article briefly describe them, discusses where they are the process, and what's next.

Things will only get more intense (and sometimes confusing) as the session wraps up. This year, the session ends on March 12. Who knows what drama (and potential shenanigans) are in store over the next thirty days?

Stay tuned!