With the session almost over, it’s looking increasingly likely that the House will once again reject Sen. Carlyle’s Bad Washington Privacy Act (SB 5062). Friday night the House adjourned without voting on 2SHB 1850. Saturday’s Ways & Means hearing was cancelled after 106 people signed in CON and nobody signed in PRO. The session ends on Thursday March 10, so it would take some major shenanigans to get anything through at this point.

But tech lobbyists aren’t giving up. 2SHB 1850 is on the House floor calendar for Monday, and the Senate could still advance SB 5062. We’ve seen plenty of shenanigans already, so we need to keep the pressure on just in case.

Here’s a script.

Thank you and your colleagues for all the work you have put into privacy legislation this session.  The two data privacy bills as written do not protect my privacy or my family’s.  With only a few days left in the session it does not make sense to waste any more of your time or ours in last-ditch attempts to fix them.  So please oppose 2SHB 1850 and SB 5062, the Bad Washington Privacy Act.

Instead, please commit to working with us, the people most likely to be harmed and exploited by data abuse, privacy experts, and other stakeholders in the interim and next session to pass legislation that puts people’s needs first  Combining an improved versions of the data privacy commission in Reps. Slatter and Berg’s Foundational Data Privacy Act with an improved version of Rep. Kloba’s Peoples’ Privacy Act can can truly position Washington as a national leader on this important issue.

How to contact your legislators about privacy legislation

Using the web form on the state legislature’s web site

Commenting on a bill on the state legislature’s web site is an easy way to let your legislators know your position on the bill and send any comments to one or all of your state legislatures. Here’s how:

1. Fill in your address and click Verify District
2. Select the legislators you want to sent it to.  There are bills alive in both chambers, so select them all.
3. Choose your position.  Your position depends on what bill you’re commenting on — see the list below.
4. Fill out the rest of the form and click on Send Comment.

You can comment on any of the three privacy bills in play.  If you’ve got a minute or two to spare, comment on all three!  Just make sure to choose the right position.  Your comment doesn’t have to be fancy — even just a sentence like “Please pass a law that protects my privacy” or “Don’t let tech companies want to write our privacy laws” is fine.  Or, you can cut-and-paste the script above, or write your own comment from scratch.    Here’s the links to comment on the three bills.

• HB 1433, the People’s Privacy Act — SUPPORT!
• HB 1850, the Foundational Data Privacy Act — OPPOSE the current version.
• SB 5062, the Bad Washington Privacy Act — OPPOSE!

By phone

If you prefer to call, the legislative hotline at 1–800–562–6000 (TTY for Hearing Impaired 800.833.6388) also lets you get a message to all your legislators at once.

1. Tell them the you’re calling about three data privacy bills.  You SUPPORT HB 1433 and OPPOSE HB 1850 and SB 5062.  Also let them know you’ll want to leave the same comment on all three bills.
2. They’ll ask for your address, and then will go through the bills one at a time asking your position and what you want to comment each bill.

The staffer has to type in whatever you say, so it’s fine to keep it simple — “Please pass a privacy law that protects me” or “Don’t let tech companies want to write our privacy laws”.  Or you can go into more detail.

By email

Legislators are getting a lot of email right now so there is no guarantee they’ll read it, but they are at least likely to see the subject line — so it is very important to include all the information there so they know what you want them to do. Choose a subject line like

Data privacy: Put people’s needs first.  SUPPORT HB 1433 (the People’s Privacy Act), OPPOSE SB 5062 (the Bad Washington Privacy Act) and 2SHB 1850.

For the addresses, we’ve got a lists of State Representatives’ and Senator’s email addresses HERE.  If you’re not sure who your legislators are, start by looking up your district using the legislature’s District Finder.  It’s easiest to send a single email to all three of your lawmakers, or you can mail each one individually.  If you want, you can also BCC us at WAPeoplesPrivacyNetwork@gmail.com so that we can track how many people are emailing their legislators about privacy.

For the contents, all you need to do is cut-and-paste and do a little editing — fill in your legislators’ names, and then include your name and city at the bottom so they know you’re a constituent.

Dear Senator X, Representative Y, and Representative Z,

Thank you and your colleagues for all the work you have put into privacy legislation this session.  The two data privacy bills as written do not protect my privacy or my family’s.  With only a few days left in the session it does not make sense to waste any more of your time or ours in last-ditch attempts to fix them.  So please oppose SB 5062, the Bad Washington Privacy Act, and 2SHB 1850.

Instead, please commit to working with us, the people most likely to be harmed and exploited by data abuse, privacy experts, and other stakeholders in the interim and next session to pass legislation that protects people, not corporations.  It’s time to look to the future, not the past.  Combining an improved versions of the data privacy commission in Reps. Slatter and Berg’s Foundational Data Privacy Act with an improved version of Rep. Kloba’s Peoples’ Privacy Act can can truly position Washington as a national leader on this important issue.

You can edit it however you want, or write your own email from scratch.  Double check it to make sure you’ve got their names in there, and make sure to sign it with your name and city … then click send and you’re done!