Patriot act may not survive

Nevada's version of the USA Patriot Act has stalled in an Assembly committee and may die there without some major revisions.

Assembly Judiciary Chairman Bernie Anderson, D-Sparks, described SB82 on Thursday as "basically sidelined in committee," adding that several panel members want "significant amendments" before the bill could move to the full Assembly for a final legislative test.

Under legislative rules, most of the measures from one house that don't win approval in committees in the other house by May 15 are dead for the session.

The Senate-approved bill was modeled after the USA Patriot Act, signed by President Bush in 2001, which gave authorities unprecedented ability to search, seize, detain or eavesdrop in their pursuit of possible terrorists.

SB82 would permit state authorities to conduct secret searches on electronic communications without getting a warrant from a judge.

Under the plan, officials could require a cell phone company or Internet provider to hand over phone logs and the full text of e-mails and text messages. Even school police officers could use the authority granted under the bill.

Bill sponsors in the state Attorney General's office have said that, aside from school police, police already have this power in Nevada, though critics, including American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada representatives, disagree.

The bill also would allow no-warrant seizures of funds on prepaid debit cards to block money-smuggling by drug-dealers or financing for terrorists.

Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto has said the main purpose of the bill is to enable law enforcement to access criminals' debit cards and to keep up with the crimes they're committing over the Internet.

Assistant Attorney General Keith Munro says Nevada law already allows police to get phone and Internet records from a service provider with just a subpoena. However, Munro has suggested that the Assembly Judiciary Committee could remove the provisions that prompted the concerns over privacy rights.