Coloradans worried about government snooping may get a chance this fall to amend the fundamental right against unreasonable searches and seizures enshrined in their state constitution.

The proposed amendment, sponsored by Democratic Senate President Morgan Carroll and Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray, would add the words “electronic and other data” to the familiar list of “persons, papers, homes, and effects” that are protected from warrantless searches. The Senate gave it final approval Monday without a dissenting vote.

We hope the House approves it, too, although it should be noted that the extra words will have no effect on the most disturbing encroachments into personal privacy that have been revealed in recent years.

Coloradans can’t vote to stop the National Security Agency from accessing electronic data that most of us would consider private.

Nor can they — to cite just one more example of many — stop the Internal Revenue Service’s criminal investigative arm from reading private e-mails that are older than 180 days without a warrant, as that agency was apparently doing until quite recently.

Still, Colorado can lead the way in clarifying how Fourth Amendment protections should be interpreted.

“Electronic data is the modern equivalent of your ‘papers,’ ” Carroll explained. “Whether that data is stored on a local server, the ‘cloud,’ or your cellphone, I don’t think you are inherently choosing to reduce your privacy.”

Representatives from the state attorney general and the district attorneys argued against the amendment, saying electronic data is already protected by both the U.S. and state constitutions and that the amendment could trigger unintended consequences. They advised trusting the courts to protect electronic data when appropriate.

Yes, the courts generally do take privacy seriously. But not always. And it can’t hurt to give them a bit of a nudge toward giving individual privacy the benefit of the doubt.