"We are concerned that by depending on secret interpretations of the Patriot Act that differed from an intuitive reading of the statute, this program essentially relied for years on a secret body of law," they say.
Ten jurisdictions have passed statutes establishing programs (Connecticut, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Vermont) or authorizing local governments to do so (California and Massachusetts).
The statute authorizing the program expired last week in a Congressional standoff over immunity for telecommunications companies that participated in the surveillance.
They were responding to an edict issued in April by Cardinal Levada's office, which ordered three American bishops to rewrite the Leadership Conference's statutes, evaluate its programs and publications, and revise its liturgies and rituals.
Yet the tax programs' statutes and policies revealed no consideration of public lands in the programs' planning or implementation.
"I'm a bit at a loss to try and figure out why Governor Perry isn't taking advantage of all of the things that have been given to him by this statute and by the programs that have been put together to help achieve what he thinks is also necessary," Cole said.
In Sabri v. United States, No. 03-44, the court voted 9 to 0 to uphold a federal criminal law known as the federal program bribery statute.
As Ms. Beltran noted, the center is based in Los Angeles, not San Francisco, and it has an annual budget of more than $1 million — both violations of the program's statute.
The program bribery statute, 18 U.S.C. § 666, was enacted in 1984.
The program bribery statute, 18 U.S.C. § 666, was passed in 1984.
