On Tuesday, a New Hampshire house committee will be deciding the fate of two bills against warrantless surveillance in the “Live Free or Die” state.

Two important bills (HB1533 / HB1619) have been introduced this year by Representative Neal Kurk (R) in the New Hampshire State House.Together, they bills would prohibit the sharing and use by any branch of government in the state of evidence gathered without a warrant signed by a judge based on “probable cause.” This is an important first step for a state to take to push back against warrantless surveillance by the NSA – and other government entities. (read about the bills here)

STATUS – On 01/30/14, both bills were given a hearing in the House Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety and have been scheduled for a vote.

BILL VOTE DATE – 02/18/14

On Tuesday afternoon 2/18/14 the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee will be holding a meeting where they are scheduled to vote on both bills. They will need to pass by majority vote in that committee to be sent to the house floor for further consideration.

YOUR ACTION IS NEEDED NOW! It doesn’t matter where in New Hampshire you live, it is imperative that you take these actions today. Call over the weekend and leave messages!

1. Call the Committee Chair and Vice Chair. Strongly, but respectfully urge them to vote YES on HB1533 and HB1619. A phone call has 10x the impact of an email, but if you are unable to get them on the phone do follow the links below and email them.

Laura Pantelakos (D) (603)436-2148
Robert Cushing (D) Vice Chair (603) 926-2737

2. Call the rest of the committee members. Again, be strong, but respectful. Urge each of them to vote YES on HB1533 and HB1619. Call over the weekend, leave a message so they know how you want them to vote. Send them an email as well.

Gene Charron (R) Clerk (603)887-2172
Roger Berube (D)  (603)692-5653
Ronald Boisvert (D) (603)669-0951
Geoffrey Hirsch (D) (603)938-2833
Dennis Fields (R) (603)528-6224
Larry Gagne (R) (603)625-9692
Mark Warden (R) (603)391-2888
Timothy Robertson (D) (603)352-7006
Brenda Grady (D) (603)424-4589
Andrew O’Hearne (D) (603)558-1038
Robert Fesh (R) (603)434-1550
Robbie Parsons (R) (603)652-9009
Steve Vaillancourt (R) (603)271-3661
Stephen Shurtleff (D) (603)753-4563
Linda Harriott-Gathright (D) (603)880-4537
Latha Mangipudi (D) (603)891-1239
Moe Villeneuve (R) (603)472-6928
Kyle Tasker (R) (603)724-4716

3.  Attend the hearing. Show your support for HB1533 and HB1619 by showing up for the hearing in person, it’s open to the public, room 204, Legislative Office Building (behind and west of the State House on North State Street in Concord).  However, please note this is an executive (voting) session, not a public hearing, so while public presence is appropriate, no public input will be heard, again be respectful.

4. Share this information widely. Get this action alert out to all your friends and contacts – by email, social media and more.

5.  On Twitter? Retweet!

William Kennedy