Write to your state legislators
State legislatures fund and oversee the systems that hold your information, and they can adopt the model acts. A short, specific letter from a constituent gets read. Find your legislators on your state legislature's website, then adapt the letter below.
Dear [Senator / Delegate / Representative] [Name],
I am a resident of [town] in your district. I am writing about how our state's information systems handle residents' personal data.
When I get a license, file my taxes, enroll a child in school or apply for a benefit, I have no choice about giving the state information about myself. I accept that. What concerns me is what happens next. As agencies connect their systems, the state is building the ability to assemble a profile of any resident, without a warrant and without the resident knowing.
I would like to know three things:
1. Can any of our state's systems, alone or together, assemble a profile of a resident across agencies?
2. When the state buys new technology, does anyone ask whether the system gives government more power to know about residents than its purpose requires?
3. Would you support legislation that treats the state as a trustee of residents' information, with duties of loyalty, care, confidentiality and transparency that residents can enforce in court?
Model legislation on this subject is available at fiduciarycommons.com/legislators. Utah enacted related protections in 2025 and 2026.
Thank you for your time. I would appreciate a reply.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Address]
Other ways to help
- Understand and share. Durable support for change comes from people who can explain why it matters in their own words. Send someone the citizens' guide or a video.
- Ask at the local level. Counties and cities buy license plate readers, case-management systems and analytics tools too. Ask what the system can know about residents who are not suspected of anything.
- Point to Utah. Utah's laws show that this is achievable and that support crosses party lines. See what Utah enacted.
- Tell us where we are wrong. This is a working framework. If part of the argument fails, or misses something you know, write.