Wyoming Makes It Illegal To Collect Evidence Of Pollution On Public Property

[n2doc]

By John Vibes

The state of Wyoming recently passed Senate Bill 12, the Data Trespass Bill, which will prevent people from collecting evidence of pollution, even on public lands. The bill prohibits the “collecting of information” on property that the person does not own, even public and federal land.

According to the text of the bill, it is now illegal to “take a sample of material, acquire, gather, photograph or otherwise preserve information in any form from open land which is submitted or intended to be submitted to any agency of the state or federal government.”


Simply taking a picture or collecting trash from a polluted stream could lead to $5,000 in fines and a year in prison.

Justin Pidot, an assistant professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law recently told Think Progress that, “People on the ground, who have been engaged in this kind of data collection in the past, now have to face the worry about being potentially prosecuted. The chilling effect on citizen participation is huge.”

“This is sort of a new tactic we’re seeing, where state governments are trying to build legal rules that prevent people from uncovering information about favored industrial groups. I think it’s very concerning as a phenomenon,” he added.


more

http://www.activistpost.com/2016/01/us-state-makes-it-illegal-to-collect-evidence-of-pollution-on-public-property.html

Freedumb!

[Buzz Clik]

1. Wyo sucks.

[GeorgeGist]

2. Love the family values.

[daleanime]

3. Pardon my language.....

but you've got to be fucking kidding me.

[elleng]

4. TOTALLY fucked up!

DUMB is RIGHT!

and totally against any rational PUBLIC POLICY!

[ck4829]

5. From "Give a hoot, don't pollute" to "If you hoot we'll throw you in jail"?

Really?

[H2O Man]

6. Gross.

It won't hold up in federal court, of course.

[annabanana]

7. I guess "public" doesn't mean what it used to. . .n/t

[sonofspy777]

8. Isn't Cheney from here?

Typical idiocy. Worthy of the Dark Lord

[elleng]

9. yes

[grntuscarora]

10. An oddly worded bill, imo.

So it's illegal to “take a sample of material, acquire, gather, photograph or otherwise preserve information in any form from open land which is submitted or intended to be submitted to any agency of the state or federal government.”

It doesn't appear to prevent someone from posting info to youtube, a blog, or even share it with a news agency. Frankly, direct submission to "any agency of the state or federal government" is a pretty good way to get your info buried, and what activist would waste their time with that?

But perhaps there is more in the bill than what was in the linked article.

I have a feeling the courts will be getting involved, and I hope they protect the taxpayers that own that public land!

[pnwmom]

12. So, I suppose you post it to youtube,

and then wait for someone else to submit it?

[grntuscarora]

14. I'm not defending the bill, believe me!

It seems though, that often, once info is made public, and general ire is aroused, the ptb have to deal with it, whether they want to or not. And the original poster's defense could be that she had No intent to submit it to a government agency.
But I'm just speculating on very little info.

[pnwmom]

17. It's a terrible law and Wyoming should be ashamed. n/t

[grntuscarora]

19. I absolutely agree.

nt

[Cal Carpenter]

21. I'm thinking things like soil tests or court cases

I've taken soil samples to be sent to the state university extension program who do a thorough analysis. Seems like it would be illegal to do that if the sample is from open land.

Or if you manage to get the results of such a test through a private company, maybe this law would make it illegal to submit that as evidence in court, for example.

I don't know, without being a legal or pollution expert, I can still see some ways that this could be really, really bad as far as citizens having the ability to expose abuse of public lands.

[grntuscarora]

25. Yes, I see your point.

My first reaction to something like this is to look for the loopholes and to start thinking of ways to get around it. But that would be enormously difficult to do in the example you gave.

I hope the courts do the right thing and kill it!

[Cassiopeia]

32. I imagine this is more about trials of corporations than arresting people.

If any prosecution by a government agency is started they now have an easy way to get "illegally" obtained evidence thrown out of a trial.

[pnwmom]

11. How can a law prohibiting photography on public land be constitutional?

[SusanCalvin]

13. It can't. I hope. nt

[Live and Learn]

29. I don't think it would be. Then again, Scalia may have a different opinion. nt

[hlthe2b]

15. If you researched who serves in state legislatures (& thus writes these bills)--especially in

smaller, sparsely populated states, you would be shocked and then likely nod as to how this could have been written and passed. Having had to deal with legislators in the past, it was an eye opening (and very disillusioning) experience. While I appreciate that a PhD or masters degree is not a prerequisite for public service, I think that most should have at least completed high school. This is NOT a given in many state legislatures. Granted there are brilliant people who never make it to college, but I do believe they are the exception.

[pnwmom]

18. Wow. So they elect people who didn't even finish high school? That does explain a lot. n/t

[hlthe2b]

20. I certainly won't say they are the majority, but I've known some who are

If you check thoroughly, you might even find that to be the case in smaller districts in even larger states.

I really don't think I'm being an educational "elitist" to be a bit shocked by that fact.

My idealism went out the window when I realized exactly why so many had no intention of deciding issues based on facts presented, rather than emotion or ideology.

[pnwmom]

22. Thanks for the info. I'm sure you're right, and it explains a lot. nt

[cali]

24. Hey, I have a lot of respect for the legislature in my rural state

And most of them are college grads

[hlthe2b]

38. re: I clearly was not denigrating ALL legislators nor state legislatures, so....

I am happy you are happy.

[jwirr]

31. Yep, coal and oil interests are well represented in Wyoming.

[tabasco]

16. Arbitrary, capricious and stupid as hell.

This law needs to become null and void and the idiots who voted for it flogged in public.

[cali]

23. Already not looking like this law will stand:

A federal judge has rejected the state of Wyoming's motion to dismiss a lawsuit aimed at striking down a pair of laws that make it illegal to collect data from public lands without first gaining permission.

U.S. District Court Judge Scott Skavdahl issued the order on Monday, finding that Wyoming's "data trespass" laws may unconstitutionally criminalize activities such as photography on public lands.

Groups suing the state say the case strikes at the heart of free speech and the right to petition the government as protected under the First Amendment, as well as equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment. "A law that makes sharing photos of Devil's Tower or Yellowstone a punishable offense just isn't consistent with Americans' right to Free Speech," Natural Resources Defense Council senior attorney Michael Wall said in a prepared statement.

Earlier this year, the Wyoming Legislature passed Senate File 12 creating the crime of trespassing to collect data, and Senate File 80, which made the practice a civil violation. Key in the language of the statutes is the application to all "open lands" outside of municipalities.

"At this stage, the Court finds it difficult to conceive a permissible rationale for preventing the collection of resource data on lands which the public has the right to be upon," Skavdahl wrote in the 38-page order. "Nothing indicates this activity is more disruptive, destructive, or problematic than other uses."

<snip>
http://www.hcn.org/articles/court-will-hear-case-against-data-trespass-laws

[MohRokTah]

26. The constitutionality of this law is highly questionable.

I doubt seriously if it will withstand even a weak challenge.

[Simeon Salus]

27. Open dumping in Wyoming is not only legal but encouraged

If I'm a gigantic corporation, I'm opening a landfill in Cheyenne this weekend.

PCBs, nuclear waste, black tar sand waste, truck it all down to WY.

Fitting isn't it that the land of Cheney is now the giant asshole of America.

[restorefreedom]

28. just as ag/gags, this will go down in flames. nt

[JohnnyRingo]

30. Shameful.

This isn't even smoke & mirrors.

[elmac]

33. Those rightwing nut jobs won't be happy until

they turn this country into one big chemical dump to make a buck. Home grown terrorists.

[SwankyXomb]

36. With their headquarters located

in a Cayman Islands post office box.

[Thespian2]

34. Interesting...

when I lived in Waynesboro, Va, my neighbour and I had several streams that we took water samples from once each month...the samples were processed by scientists at Virginia Tech with the results going to the state government...

If we did that now in Wyoming, we would face prosecution?...what a world, ah?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

35. Surely this will be tested and challenged and ultimately declared unconstitutional

But many legislators pay that no mind -- they are pandering to their bases or their paymasters.

[Botany]

37. Why do I smell Koch Brothers/ALEC all over this law?

If it wasn't for rigged voting, gerrymandering, voter suppression, and a dirty media
the republican party would be in the toilet ready to go down the drain.

They want to kill off USPS, public schools, women's rights, the EPA, and the public's
constitutionally protected rights.

[gratuitous]

41. Probably because their blood-stained fingers are all over this

This long game has been in progress for decades, and you've listed many of the current issues.

[elmac]

39. So if Michigan had this law

They could continue to poison little kids in Flint MI while keeping their lead water from being exposed.

[Omaha Steve]

40. .

K&R!

OS