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Republican Goofball Report from Wyoming


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2015 Jun 13, 2:27pm   3,754 views  6 comments

by Robert Sproul   ➕follow (1)   💰tip   ignore  

Wyoming Senate File 12:
"Passed by the Wyoming state government and signed into law by Gov. Matt "Meathead" Mead (R) in March, the law makes it illegal to “collect resource data” from any land outside of city boundaries, whether that land be private, public, or federal. Under to the law, “collect” means 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.”"
"Under the statute, a citizen who uncovers an environmental disaster or public health threat — unless they’ve obtained specific permission from the landowner [which could be the state or federal government] before collecting that data — would themselves be breaking the law by reporting it to the authorities."
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/05/13/3657795/wyoming-pollution-photography-jail-time/

#politics

Comments 1 - 6 of 6        Search these comments

1   Tenpoundbass   2015 Jun 13, 2:41pm  

What authority, expertise and bias do unlicensed people have to collect data?
How would you like I barge into your house and bust up your slab... you know because I suspect there might be something illegal buried under there?

Not only that, but I don't share my findings with you, and the prosecutor takes my word for it.

2   curious2   2015 Jun 13, 4:58pm  

"Imagine, for a second, a hiker who is taking a walk through a national forest in Wyoming. During that hike, she notices a visibly polluted stream within the area. The next day, she returns with a camera to take a picture of the stream, with the intention of showing those photographs to the local authorities as proof of pollution. Under the Data Trespass Bill, unless the hiker obtained specific permission from the land’s owner or manager — in this case, the Forest Service — to collect that data, she would be subject to prosecution that could result in up to $5,000 in fines and a year in prison. And while the law probably won’t be used to slap fines on every Yellowstone tourist with a camera, it does have broad-reaching implications for environmental data collection in the state, according to Justin Pidot, an assistant professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, who wrote a piece on the law for Slate.
***
Environmental groups, like the Wyoming chapter of the Sierra Club, agree that the bill’s broad language will impede citizen science throughout the state.
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One of the most troubling components of the law, according to Pidot, is that it specifically targets data collected to be shared with the government, a focus he calls “anomalous, bizarre, and radical.” Under the statute, a citizen who uncovers an environmental disaster or public health threat — unless they’ve obtained specific permission from the landowner before collecting that data — would themselves be breaking the law by reporting it to the authorities."

3   Robert Sproul   2015 Jun 14, 6:02pm  

sbh says

Read the comments

Reading Yahoo News comments always make me get up and lock the door.

curious2 says

One of the most troubling components of the law, according to Pidot, is that it specifically targets data collected to be shared with the government

The government makes a law that makes it illegal to report malfeasance or dangerous conditions to…….the government.
This must be what it looks like when a government loses all legitimacy.
They don't even trust themselves.

4   MisdemeanorRebel   2015 Jun 14, 6:14pm  

sbh says

This move by the Wyo legislature doesn't surprise me a bit.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/-I2liaUsMLQ

"Get off my government land! "

5   curious2   2015 Jun 14, 10:54pm  

I suspect the motive is mainly to prevent reporting coal ash, hog runoff, and other serious contamination. Big Ag has been pushing "ag-gag" rules to prohibit anybody disparaging their crap, and even Oprah got sued.

6   Y   2015 Jun 15, 5:39am  

take the pictures..mail anonymously to thousands of news outlets via freebie mass emailer ( with identity protections in place of course ).
everyone winds up knowing...initiating the marches/protests...
its' an unenforceable law.

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