Dear Mayor:

Portions of the USA PATRIOT Act compromise the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights and should be amended, says a resolution recently passed by the National League of Cities (NLC) at its annual meeting. The NLC called for amendments to restore protections of the fundamental civil liberties of Americans.

The resolution says that while the NLC believes that efforts to prevent and respond to acts of terrorism require extensive coordination among federal, state and local governments, such efforts "should not disproportionately infringe on the essential civil rights and liberties of the people of the United States." The PATRIOT Act was passed by Congress and signed into law in October, 2001, following the September 11 attacks.

The NLC believes that a number of provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act threaten fundamental rights and civil liberties, including those that:

• Permit law enforcement to perform searches with no one present and to delay notification of the search of a citizen's home (Section 213)
• Permit the FBI director to seek records from bookstores and libraries including books of patrons based on minimal evidence of wrongdoing and prohibits librarians and bookstore employees from disclosing the fact that they have been ordered to produce such documents (Section 215)
• Amend the "probable cause" requirement before conducting secret searches or surveillance to obtain evidence of a crime (Section 218)
• Permit law enforcement authorities to have broad access to sensitive mental health, library, business, financial, and educational records despite the existence of previously adopted state and federal laws which were intended to strengthen the protection of these types of records (Sections 215, 218, 358, and 508)
• Give the secretary of state broad powers to designate domestic groups as "terrorist organizations" and the attorney general power to subject immigrants to indefinite detention or deportation even if no crime has been committed (Sections 411 and 412)
• Impose an unfunded mandate on state and local public universities that must collect information on students who may be of interest to the Attorney General (Sections 507 and 508).

As recent NLC research has shown, municipal budgets across the nation are already strained and added homeland security duties constitute unfunded mandates on local police, libraries, universities and other budgets that cities and towns cannot financially absorb.

The resolution urges the president and executive branch members to "review, revise and rescind executive orders and policies adopted since the terrorist attacks that limit or compromise the liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights" and urges Congress to amend the PATRIOT Act in order "to restore and protect our nation's fundamental and inalienable rights and liberties." NLC also supports the sunset of key provisions of the PATRIOT Act and increased Congressional oversight over agencies responsible for enforcing the law.

The resolution also supports the "Freedom to Read Protection Act of 2003," which would reinstate legal standards for libraries and bookstores, and the Protecting the Rights of Individuals Act, which would require a court order before conducting electronic surveillance.

Arlington, Mass. Selectman Charlie Lyons, president of the NLC, said, "Cities and towns need a partnership with the federal government on homeland security issues that makes sure we have the resources we need to get the job done but also preserves the liberties that Americans hold dear."

A copy of the NLC resolution will be posted on our website at www.njslom.com. For further information contact Jon Moran at (609) 695-3481 ext. 21.

Thanks for your interest and attention.