FREEDOMWORKS 04/26/2015

Montana Legislature Continues Trend of States Limiting Government Overreach - by Jason Pye The Montana Legislature has approved a bill providing a crucial protection to innocent people whose property could be confiscated by overzealous law enforcement. Currently, Montana has some of the worst civil asset forfeiture laws in the country. Law enforcement can seize property suspected of use in a crime without ever charging or convicting the property owner. Like many other states, a perverse profit motive exists, as law enforcement keeps 100 percent of proceeds from forfeitures. Read more here... Civil Asset Forfeiture: Changing the Way the Police, Police - by Michael Greibrok Law enforcement’s main duties are to keep the public safe and protect our persons and property. In many states, civil asset forfeiture creates a perverse incentive which can change the priorities that law enforcement pursues. In nearly half the states, law enforcement keeps all the proceeds that are gained through civil asset forfeiture. In total, 39 states allow law enforcement to keep over 50% of all proceeds from civil asset forfeiture. These laws incentivize law enforcement to go after cash because any cash seized will increase their bottom line. This incentive has especially shown itself in how law enforcement polices our highways. Today, it is not uncommon for one of the first questions an officer asks to be whether the driver is carrying any large amounts of cash. Read more here... Making Freedom Work Tennessee's Common Core Repeal Bill is Weak, But an Encouraging Start - by Logan Albright It appears that Tennessee will be next state in line to repeal the increasingly unpopular Common Core education standards, joining South Carolina, Missouri, and Oklahoma. This week, the state House passed HB 1035 unanimously, a bill that calls for Common Core standards to be repealed and replaced with standards designed by the state. The state Senate followed shortly thereafter, passing the bill by a vote of 27-1. As Common Core repeal bills go, this one could certainly have been stronger. There is no language in the bill about testing requirements or the student data collection that is concerning to many parents, and the multi-commission process for replacing the standards will seem overly bureaucratic to many. Moreover, there is nothing in the bill forbidding standards common to a large number of states, or partnerships with the federal government on standards. Read more here... Jeb Bush Says the "Best Part" of Obama's presidency is the NSA's Unconstitutional Domestic Spying Program - by Jason Pye Jeb Bush continues to defend the National Security Agency's unconstitutional domestic spying program, telling a conservative talk show host that this gross encroachment on the Fourth Amendment is the "best part of the Obama administration." There's absolutely no evidence that the National Security Agency's domestic spying program has prevented a terrorist attack in the United States. This is a conclusion reached by the New America Foundation and the White House Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technology. The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board could "not identif[y] a single instance involving a threat to the United States in which the program made a concrete difference in the outcome of a counterterrorism investigation." Read more here... Why Did The IRS Seize $63,000 From a Maryland Farmer - by Tom Borelli Logic would dictate the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) would be pleased that small business owners are making cash deposits into a bank since these funds are evidence of taxable revenue. After all, a dishonest individual could hide the cash at home. Obviously, logic is absent at the tax collecting agency. Read more here... Why Should You Care About Justice Reform Neill Franklin, a retired major in the Maryland State Police, sits down with FreedomWorks to explain his personal revelation against the War on Drugs, and why justice reform is both a moral and fiscal responsibility for the nation. Watch here... Can the Government "Take Its Cut" of Anything Produced? - by Michael Greibrok Is the government able to require that you hand over a portion of your production to be able to enter a regulated marketplace? That is the main question in Horne v. Department of Agriculture, a case that was argued before the Supreme Court on Wednesday . The program at question came into being as part of the New Deal and forces raisin farmers to hand over a portion of their crop to the Raisin Administrative Committee. The RAC then has discretion to sell or gift the raisins and any proceeds, minus administrative costs, are distributed back to the farmers. Predictably, the funds distributed back to the farmers are minimal and sometimes nonexistent. Read more here... The Insidious Tyranny of General Warrants - by Logan Albright You’ve seen it a thousand times in movies, on police dramas, in any media dealing with crime and punishment. The police show up at a suspect’s house demanding entry, only to have the occupant retort, “Come back when you’ve got a warrant.” In order for law enforcement to invade your personal property, a search warrant is required. This is what the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution means when it says that there shall be no “unreasonable search and seizure.” In short, if the police want to go through your stuff, they better have a good reason. At least, that’s the way it was meant to be. Read more here... Sign up for the FreedomWorks Morning Update If you want an update like this newsletter twice a week, be sure to sign up for the FreedomWorks Morning Update! The Morning Update is your tool to keep up-to-date with all the threats to your freedom. Sign up here. Make freedom work, Iris Somberg Press Secretary, FreedomWorks