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House shortens social-media warrant response time to 24 hours amid emotional debate after Evergreen shooting
Summary
House passed HB 12 55, which shortens expected social-media response time on judicial search warrants and requires certain human-reviewed, public posts that indicate an imminent threat be reported to local law enforcement. Supporters said hours matter to stop plots; critics worried the bill amends recently enacted law and creates procedural complications. The bill passed 36–29.
Representative Story introduced HB 12 55 as a direct policy response to the Evergreen High School shooting and the delays investigators experienced obtaining social-media account information. "Just a few days would have meant that students and staff wouldn't be dealing with the life-altering trauma that day," Story said, arguing that reducing response time from days to 24 hours could allow law enforcement to disrupt imminent attacks.
Supporters cited research and threat-assessment findings about frequent social-media indicators before school attacks and recounted painful survivor testimony. Representative Story said in the Evergreen case a three-step warrant process took about 70 days and that an earlier response could have allowed intervention. Opponents, including Representative Besenacker and others, noted that the House had recently enacted a separate statute on warrants; Besenacker said some of HB 12 55’s changes conflicted with that earlier compromise and that shortening timelines might paradoxically lengthen response times if judicial extensions become routine.
After floor debate and a roll-call vote, the House passed HB 12 55 by a recorded vote of 36–29. Sponsors said the law brings response expectations in line with the technical capacity of large platforms and creates a narrow reporting duty for posts that meet the bill’s human-review and imminence tests.
