State Involvement in the MATRIX Program
State
Status of Involvement in Program
Status of ACLU FOIA Request
Alabama
Withdrawn from program (10/17/2003, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
N/A
ArizonaInterested in Participating (11/5/2003 Meeting Minutes)N/AArkansasInterested in Participating (11/5/2003 Meeting Minutes)N/A
California
On 10/7/2002 was elected member of Executive Committee governing program
Withdrawn from program (9/23/2003, AP)
Filed (1/21/04)
ColoradoInterested in Participating (11/5/2003 Meeting Minutes)N/A
Connecticut
Active Participant (1/8/2004, Connecticut Law Tribune)
Citizen of Connecticut? Click here to send a fax asking your state legislator to pull out.
Filed (10/30/2003)
Response:
Florida
Active Participant
Founding Member[1]
Citizen of Florida? Send a fax asking your state legislator to pull out.
Filed (10/20/2003)
Response:
Georgia
Withdrawn from program (1/30/2004, Atlanta Journal-Constitution). Still listed as a participant on MATRIX webpage.
Filed (01/30/2004)
Response:
Indiana
"Working with" Florida law enforcement (3/18/04 Meeting Minutes)
N/A
Iowa
Not interested in Participating (3/17/2004, Des Moines Register)
N/A
Kentucky
Withdrawn (10/4/2003, Palm Beach Post)
N/A
Louisiana
Withdrawn from program (10/17/2003, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
N/A
MarylandNot Interested in Participating (1/31/2004, AP)N/A
Massachusetts
Potential Participant (3/18/04 Meeting Minutes)
Michigan
Active Participant (1/31/2004, AP)
Considering withdrawing according to press account (3/19/2004, AP)
Citizen of Michigan? Click here to send a fax asking your state legislator to pull out.
Denial of involvement in letter to the ACLU
Minutes of 11/5/2003 meeting indicate involvement
Filed (10/30/2003)
Response:
Minnesota
Potential Participant (3/18/04 Meeting Minutes)
Missouri
"Working with" Florida law enforcement (3/18/04 Meeting Minutes)
N/A
New York
Elected member of Executive Committee governing program (10/7/02)
Withdrawn from program (NY State Police letter expressing intent to withdraw, 3/10/2004)
Filed (10/30/2003)
North CarolinaPotential Participant (11/5/2003 Meeting Minutes)
Ohio
Active Participant (2/1/2004, AP)
Citizen of Ohio? Click here to send a fax asking your state legislator to pull out.
Filed (10/30/2003)
Oregon
On 10/7/02 was elected member of Executive Committee governing program
Withdrawn (10/4/2003 Palm Beach Post)
Filed (1/26/2004)
Pennsylvania
Active Participant (2/1/2004, AP)
On 10/7/02 was elected member of Executive Committee governing program
Citizen of Pennsylvania? Click here to send a fax asking your state legislator to pull out.
Filed (10/30/2003)
Response:
Appeal Filed (1/14/2004)
South Carolina
Withdrawn (10/4/2003, Palm Beach Post)
N/A
Tennessee
Potential Participant (2/3/2004, AP)
N/A
Texas
Withdrawn from program (5/21/2003, from Florida's response to the ACLU's FOIA request)
Filed (02/03/2004)
Partial repsonse received (3/5/2004)
Utah
Withdrawn (1/29/2004, AP)
Filed (11/18/2003)
Response:
West Virginia
Potential Participant (11/5/2003 Meeting Minutes)
N/A
Wisconsin
Joined program on 2/11/04 according to press report
Withdrawn (3/10/2004)
N/A
A few facts of note:
- The MATRIX contains 20 billion records from private databases. It is the largest database on the planet. (USA Today, 11/11/03)
- It has been supplied with information from at least 4 states. (Palm Beach Post, 10/4/03)
- It as already received $12 M in funding from the federal government. (USA Today, 11/11/03)
- It is expected to cost $34 M annually to run and $1.7 M per state. (Palm Beach Post, 10/4/03)
- Hank Asher, the founder of Seisint, has been implicated as a drug smuggler and it was Asher's former company, Database Technologies, that administered the contract that stripped thousands of African Americans from the Florida voter rolls before the 2000 election, erroneously contending that they were felons. (Free Exchange Policy Project, quoting Lucy Morgan, "Troubled Business May Lose Contract with State," St. Petersburg Times, August 13, 2003)
- And a competing data vendor, ChoicePoint, decided not to bid on the project, saying it lacked adequate privacy safeguards. (Toronto Globe & Mail, 9/24/03)
- The project is billed as a tool for state and local police, but organizers are considering giving access to the Central Intelligence Agency, said Phil Ramer, special agent in charge of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's intelligence office. (Toronto Globe & Mail, 9/24/03)
- Criminal history files in the database are maintained by 15 Seisint employees, watched over by Florida state police, Mr. Ramer said. Yet a Florida Department of Law Enforcement memo obtained by The Associated Press shows potential lapses in oversight. The memo says background checks on Seisint's Matrix workers took place only last month, more than a year into the program, and a privacy policy governing the database's use has yet to be finalized. (Toronto Globe & Mail, 9/24/03)
[1] All information on members of MATRIX's Executive Committee comes from documents supplied by the Pennsylvania State Police.
[2] The Pennsylvania State Police, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections have all signed Memoranda of Understanding to share information with the MATRIX system.
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