Police investigation bill questioned

CARSON CITY — A bill to expand investigative powers of police before they're armed with a search warrant issued by a judge was challenged Tuesday by a public defender who told lawmakers it's too broad.

Deputy Washoe County Public Defender Orrin Johnson questioned wording of SB51, sought by the Nevada Department of Public Safety, during a Senate Energy, Infrastructure and Transportation Committee hearing.

Johnson said the proposal raised constitutional concerns about unauthorized snooping, could lead to "fishing expeditions" by overzealous investigators and would undermine the authority of Nevada judges to tell police they're overstepping their bounds.

Under current law, police can subpoena a public utility to get the name and address of a person listed in utility records. SB51 would expand the information to include incoming and outgoing phone call records, power usage records, a person's birth date, Social Security or passport number, family contacts or "any additional identifying information" that a utility might have.

Scott Jackson, chief of the state Division of Investigations, said the subpoenas would be issued in cases where there's "reasonable suspicion" of criminal activity. That's a lesser legal standard than the "probable cause" standard needed to get a search warrant from a judge.

"Allowing law enforcement officials to simply subpoena the information without limitation ... is an end run around the requirement to get a warrant before you search somebody's house," Johnson said.

Responding to questions, Jackson said any of the information sought under SB51 would help in nabbing criminals. He noted that abnormally high power usage can indicate that someone is using a lot of lights to help grow marijuana inside a house.

Johnson countered that he's not concerned about "the vast majority" of police investigators who wouldn't go too far in seeking information prior to seeking a warrant. But he said overzealous investigators could violate the U.S. Constitution's 4th Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure.

Jackson said his agency has a budget to pay utilities for their costs in making copies of the records. But Johnson said SB51 goes far beyond what the utilities now provide and could result in higher costs for police agencies because they'd seek "reams and reams and reams of paperwork."

Sen. Mike Schneider, D-Las Vegas, the Senate committee chairman, said the public defender raised questions that he hadn't thought of. He said Johnson and Jackson, as well as utility representatives, should see if they can agree upon amendments before the panel acts on the measure.