In response to a previous post, an anonymous Utah commenter made mention of HB 150.  Now it's not like I don't have anything else going on (like work, an active high schooler, a husband who is working on finishing our based etc) but I did sit down to start reading HB 150. 

Now "anonymous" seemed to equate what went on in the Lower Merion School district with what is proposed in HB 150.  As usual when dealing with anonymous drive by commenters, the truth was no where NEAR what was implied.  For the record, the comments left were...

Guest Seen HB 150 - Administrative Subpoena Amendments?

LL What does that have to do with school districts guest? Be more specific please....

Guest It has to do with spying on your kids ... and just about everybody else.

LL No I hadn't - link please?

Well of course anonymous didn't provide a link because he/she KNEW that there was nothing similar between what happened in the Lower Merion School district and what is proposed in HB 150.

First, HB 150 revolves around investigating CRIMINAL ACTIVITY.  The Lower Merion School District was not investigating criminal activity - they are not CHARGED with investigating criminal activity.  PERIOD. 

Second, and most importantly, nothing in HB 150 mandates that you take, from the state, the tools with which they are going to spy on you.  The children at the Lower Merion School District were told to take these computers (with the remote activatable web cams) home so that they could do their required school work! 

HB 150 has provisions for probably cause for the administative subpeona's - there was no probable cause for the school to turn on the web cams.  It was done strictly because they COULD.

Look - based on what I have read in HB 150 there are serious causes for concern and I will comment on them in another post - after I have finished reading the bill.  However, if you are going to make an argument against the bill, do it intelligently and based on the MERITS (or lack there of) of the bill.  To try to insinuate that HB 150 is akin to what happened in Lower Merion is disengenous at best - an out and out lie at worst.  You do yourself and your "side" no favors by making such easily refutable straw man arguments.