AN ACT CONCERNING FEES FOR COPYING, REVIEWING AND REDACTING RECORDS CREATED BY POLICE BODY-WORN RECORDING EQUIPMENT AND DASHBOARD CAMERAS.

Senate
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General Assembly File No. 202
February Session, 2026 Senate Bill No. 225

Senate, March 26, 2026

The Committee on Government Administration and Elections
reported through SEN. FLEXER of the 29th Dist., Chairperson
of the Committee on the part of the Senate, that the bill ought to
pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING FEES FOR COPYING, REVIEWING AND
REDACTING RECORDS CREATED BY POLICE BODY-WORN
RECORDING EQUIPMENT AND DASHBOARD CAMERAS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 29-6d of the 2026 supplement to the general statutes 1
is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 2
October 1, 2026): 3
(a) For purposes of this section, [and] section 2 of this act and section 4
7-277b: 5
(1) "Law enforcement unit" has the same meaning as provided in 6
section 7-294a; 7
(2) "Police officer" means a sworn member of a law enforcement unit 8
or any member of a law enforcement unit who performs police duties; 9
(3) "Body-worn recording equipment" means an electronic recording 10
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device that is capable of recording audio and video; 11
(4) "Dashboard camera" means a dashboard camera with a remote 12
recorder, as defined in section 7-277b; 13
(5) "Digital data storage device or service" means a device or service 14
that retains the data from the recordings made by body-worn recording 15
equipment using computer data storage; [and] 16
(6) "Police patrol vehicle" means any state or local police vehicle other 17
than an administrative vehicle in which an occupant is wearing body -18
worn camera equipment, a bicycle, a motor scooter, an all -terrain 19
vehicle, an electric personal assistive mobility device, as defined in 20
subsection (a) of section 14-289h, or an animal control vehicle; 21
(7) "Freedom of Information Act" has the same meaning as provided 22
in section 1-200; 23
(8) "Requesting party" means the person requesting a record created 24
using body-worn recording equipment or a dashboard camera pursuant 25
to the Freedom of Information Act; 26
(9) "Involved person" means (A) any individual depicted in the 27
record created using body -worn recording equipment or a dashboard 28
camera, (B) any individual directly involved in the incident that led to 29
the police officer being called to respond, or (C) any police officer 30
responding to such incident, including the police officer whose body -31
worn recording equipment or dashboard camera created the record; and 32
(10) "Redact" means to obscure, pixelate or mute any portion of a 33
record created using body -worn recording equipment or a dashboard 34
camera. 35
(b) The Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection 36
and the Police Officer Standards and Training Council shall jointly 37
evaluate and approve the minimal technical specifications of body-worn 38
recording equipment that shall be worn by police officers pursuant to 39
this section, dashboard cameras that shall be used in each police patrol 40
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vehicle and digital data storage devices or services that shall be used by 41
a law enforcement unit to retain the data from the recordings made by 42
such equipment. The commissioner and council shall make such 43
minimal technical specifications available to each law enforcement unit 44
in a manner determined by the commissioner and council. The 45
commissioner and council may revise the minimal technical 46
specifications when the commissioner and council determine that 47
revisions to such specifications are necessary. 48
(c) (1) Each police officer shall use body -worn recording equipment 49
while interacting with the public in such sworn member's law 50
enforcement capacity, except as provided in subsection (g) of this 51
section, or in the case of a municipal police department, in accordance 52
with the department's policy adopted by the department and based on 53
guidelines maintained pursuant to subsection (j) of this section, 54
concerning the use of body-worn recording equipment. 55
(2) Each police officer shall wear body-worn recording equipment on 56
such officer's outer -most garment and shall position such equipment 57
above the midline of such officer's torso when using such equipment. 58
(3) Body-worn recording equipment used pursuant to this section 59
shall conform to the minimal technical specifications approved 60
pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, except that a police officer may 61
use body -worn recording equipment that does not conform to the 62
minimal technical specifications approved pursuant to subsection (b) of 63
this section, if such equipment was purchased prior to January 1, 2016, 64
by the law enforcement unit employing such officer. 65
(4) Each law enforcement unit shall require usage of a dashboard 66
camera in each police patrol vehicle used by any police officer employed 67
by such unit in accordance with the unit's policy adopted by the unit 68
and based on guidelines maintained pursuant to subsection (j) of this 69
section, concerning dashboard cameras. 70
(d) Except as required by state or federal law, no person employed by 71
a law enforcement unit shall edit, erase, copy, share or otherwise alter 72
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or distribute in any manner any recording made by body -worn 73
recording equipment or a dashboard camera or the data from such 74
recording. 75
(e) A police officer may review a recording from his or her body-worn 76
recording equipment or a dashboard camera (1) in order to assist such 77
officer with the preparation of a report or otherwise assist such officer 78
in the performance of his or her duties, or (2) if such officer is the subject 79
of a disciplinary investigation and such a recording is being considered 80
as part of the investigation. 81
(f) (1) If a police officer is giving a formal statement about the use of 82
force and the use of force was captured in a recording from body -worn 83
recording equipment or a dashboard camera, the officer shall have the 84
right to review such recording in the presence of the officer's attorney 85
or labor representative. Not later than forty -eight hours following an 86
officer's review of the recording, or if the officer does not review the 87
recording, not later than ninety-six hours following a request for public 88
disclosure of the recording, whichever is earlier, such recording shall be 89
disclosed, upon request, to the public, subject to the provisions of 90
subsection (g) of this section. Public disclosure may be delayed if the 91
officer, due to a medical or physical response or an acute psychological 92
stress response to the incident, is not reasonably able to review a 93
recording under this subdivision, but in no event shall disclosure be 94
delayed more than one hundred forty -four hours following the 95
recorded event. 96
(2) If a request is made for public disclosure of a recording from body-97
worn recording equipment or a dashboard camera that captured an 98
alleged use of force and a police officer has not been asked to give a 99
formal statement about the alleged use of force, any police officer whose 100
image or voice is captured on the recording shall have the right to 101
review such recording in the presence of the officer's attorney or labor 102
representative. Not later than forty -eight hours following an officer's 103
review of a recording under this subdivision, or if the officer does not 104
review the recording, not later than ninety -six hours following the 105
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request for disclosure, whichever is earlier, such recording shall be 106
disclosed to the public, subject to the provisions of subsection (g) of this 107
section. Public disclosure may be delayed if the officer, due to a medical 108
or physical response or an acute psychological stress response to the 109
incident, is not reasonably able to review a recording under this 110
subdivision, but in no event shall disclosure be delayed more than one 111
hundred forty-four hours following the recorded event. 112
(g) (1) Except as otherwise provided by any agreement between a law 113
enforcement unit and the federal government, no police officer shall use 114
body-worn recording equipment or a dashboard camera, if applicable, 115
to intentionally record (A) a communication with other law enforcement 116
unit personnel, except that which may be recorded as the officer 117
performs his or her duties, (B) an encounter with an undercover officer 118
or informant or an officer performing detective work described in 119
guidelines developed pursuant to subsection (j) of this section, (C) when 120
an officer is on break or is otherwise engaged in a personal activity, (D) 121
a person undergoing a medical or psychological evaluation, procedure 122
or treatment, (E) any person other than a suspect to a crime if an officer 123
is wearing such equipment in a hospital or other medical facility setting, 124
or (F) in a mental health facility, unless responding to a call involving a 125
suspect to a crime who is thought to be present in the facility. 126
(2) No record created using body -worn recording equipment or a 127
dashboard camera of (A) an occurrence or situation described in 128
subparagraphs (A) to (F), inclusive, of subdivision (1) of this subsection, 129
(B) a scene of an incident that involves (i) a victim of domestic or sexual 130
abuse, (ii) a victim of homicide or suicide, or (iii) a deceased victim of an 131
accident, if disclosure could reasonably be expected to constitute an 132
unwarranted invasion of personal privacy in the case of any such victim 133
described in this subparagraph, or (C) a minor, shall be subject to 134
disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, [as defined in section 135
1-200,] and any such record shall be confidential and redacted in 136
accordance with section 2 of this act, except that a record of a minor shall 137
be disclosed if (i) the minor and the parent or guardian of such minor 138
consent to the disclosure of such record, or, if the minor is an involved 139
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person, the minor's parent or guardian is the requesting party or an 140
involved person, (ii) a police officer is the subject of an allegation of 141
misconduct made by such minor or the parent or guardian of such 142
minor, and the person representing such officer in an investigation of 143
such alleged misconduct requests disclosure of such record for the sole 144
purpose of preparing a defense to such allegation, or (iii) a person is 145
charged with a crime and defense counsel for such person requests 146
disclosure of such record for the sole purpose of assisting in such 147
person's defense and the discovery of such record as evidence is 148
otherwise discoverable. 149
(h) No police officer shall use body-worn recording equipment prior 150
to being trained in accordance with section 7 -294s in the use of such 151
equipment and in the retention of data created by such equipment. A 152
law enforcement unit shall ensure that each police officer such unit 153
employs receives such training at least annually and is trained on the 154
proper care and maintenance of such equipment. 155
(i) If a police officer is aware that any body -worn recording 156
equipment or dashboard camera is lost, damaged or malfunctioning, 157
such officer shall inform such officer's supervisor in writing as soon as 158
is practicable. Upon receiving such information, the supervisor shall 159
ensure that the body -worn recording equipment or dashboard camera 160
is inspected and repaired or replaced, as necessary. Each police officer 161
shall inspect and test body-worn recording equipment prior to each shift 162
to verify proper functioning, and shall notify such officer's supervisor 163
of any problems with such equipment. 164
(j) The Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection 165
and the Police Officer Standards and Training Council shall jointly 166
maintain guidelines pertaining to the use of body -worn recording 167
equipment and dashboard cameras, including the type of detective 168
work an officer might engage in that should not be recorded, retention 169
of data created by such equipment and dashboard cameras and methods 170
for safe and secure storage of such data. On and after October 1, 2024, 171
such guidelines shall contain provisions concerning under which 172
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circumstances an officer shall not pause recording on such equipment. 173
The guidelines shall not require a law enforcement unit to store such 174
data for a period longer than one year, except in the case where the unit 175
knows the data is pertinent to any ongoing civil, criminal or 176
administrative matter. Each law enforcement unit and any police officer 177
and any other employee of such unit who may have access to such data 178
shall adhere to such guidelines. The commissioner and council may 179
update and reissue such guidelines, as the commissioner and council 180
determine necessary. The commissioner and council shall, upon 181
issuance of such guidelines or any update to such guidelines, submit 182
such guidelines in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a to the 183
joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance 184
of matters relating to the judiciary and public safety. 185
(k) (1) Not later than October 1, 2023, the Police Officer Standards and 186
Training Council, in consultation with the Institute for Municipal and 187
Regional Policy at The University of Connecticut, shall prescribe a form 188
to be used by law enforcement units to report each unit's compliance 189
with the provisions of subsection (c) of this section. Such form shall 190
require the compilation of information including, but not limited to, (A) 191
the number of body -worn recording devices in operation in a law 192
enforcement unit, (B) the number of dashboard cameras in operation in 193
a law enforcement unit, (C) the number of police patrol vehicles not 194
equipped with a dashboard camera in a law enforcement unit and the 195
reasons such vehicles are not so equipped, (D) information regarding 196
any incidents in which a police officer of a law enforcement unit was 197
found in an internal investigation conducted by such unit to have 198
violated such unit's policy regarding the use of body -worn recording 199
equipment or dashboard cameras, and (E) any other information 200
deemed necessary. 201
(2) Not later than January 1, 2024, and annually thereafter, each law 202
enforcement unit shall submit a report on the form prescribed pursuant 203
to subdivision (1) of this subsection concerning the unit's compliance 204
with the provisions of subsection (c) of this section to the Institute for 205
Municipal and Regional Policy at The University of Connecticut. The 206
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institute shall post such reports on the institute's Internet web site. 207
(3) Not later than July 1, 2024, and annually thereafter, the Institute 208
for Municipal and Regional Policy at The University of Connecticut 209
shall, within available appropriations, review the reports submitted 210
pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection, and report the results of 211
such review and any recommendations as a result of such review to the 212
Governor, the Police Officer Standards and Training Council, the 213
Criminal Justice Policy and Planning Division within the Office of Policy 214
and Management and, in accordance with the provisions of section 11 -215
4a, the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having 216
cognizance of matters relating to the judiciary and public safety and 217
security. 218
Sec. 2. (NEW) ( Effective October 1, 2026 ) (a) Except as provided in 219
subsections (b) and (c) of this section, any public agency, as defined in 220
section 1-200 of the general statutes, that maintains a copy of a record 221
created using body-worn recording equipment or a dashboard camera 222
pursuant to section 29-6d of the general statutes, as amended by this act, 223
may charge the requesting party a redaction fee for any such record that 224
requires redaction in accordance with the provisions of this section. 225
Such fee shall compensate the public agency for the time spent redacting 226
any portion of the requested record as required or authorized by state 227
or federal law, including, but not limited to, the provisions of subsection 228
(g) of section 29-6d of the general statutes, as amended by this act. Such 229
fee shall be calculated as follows: 230
(1) The public agency shall not charge the requesting party for the 231
time spent searching for the applicable record that is responsive to the 232
request. 233
(2) The first four hours of labor costs incurred by the public agency in 234
redacting the requested record shall not be charged to the requesting 235
party. 236
(3) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, any additional 237
labor costs associated with any time necessary to redact the requested 238
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record beyond the time set forth in subdivision (2) of this subsection 239
may be charged to the requesting party at a rate not to exceed the hourly 240
wage of the lowest -paid employee with the requisite training for 241
redacting the responsive record. For purposes of this subdivision, the 242
hourly wage of an employee shall be based upon the employee's base 243
salary and shall not include benefits. The responding agency shall not 244
charge the requesting party for the services of any attorney hired by the 245
responding agency to conduct a second review of the requested record 246
or any company providing digital management services to the 247
responding agency. 248
(4) Any fee charged to a requesting party under this subsection shall 249
not exceed one hundred dollars per hour of the actual length of time of 250
the record requested. In calculating the fee under this subsection, the 251
public agency may round up the actual length of time of the record 252
requested to the nearest half hour at a rate of fifty dollars per half hour. 253
(5) If the amount to be charged to the requesting party in accordance 254
with subdivision (3) of this subsection is estimated to exceed two 255
hundred fifty dollars, the public agency shall inform the requesting 256
party of the estimated fee and may require prepayment of such fee prior 257
to redacting the requested record. If the amount of prepaid fees exceeds 258
the actual labor costs incurred by the public agency in redacting the 259
requested record, the public agency shall reimburse the requesting 260
party for any difference between the prepaid amount and actual cost. 261
(b) The public agency shall waive any fee authorized under this 262
section if required under subsection (d) of section 1 -212 of the general 263
statutes. 264
(c) (1) A public agency shall not charge a fee to any requesting party 265
who is (A) an involved person in the record requested, (B) the parent or 266
legal guardian of an involved person, or (C) an attorney representing an 267
involved person in any civil, criminal or administrative matter. 268
(2) A public agency shall not charge a fee to any other requesting 269
party if (A) the record depicts a police officer involved in a shooting, a 270
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police officer involved in a motor vehicle accident or a police officer 271
giving a formal statement about the use of force, or (B) (i) there is an 272
allegation of misconduct concerning the police officer involved, or (ii) 273
the police officer involved is the subject of a disciplinary investigation, 274
subject to any limitations on disclosure set forth in subsection (g) of 275
section 29-6d of the general statutes, as amended by this act. 276
(d) The public agency shall maintain an original, unredacted copy of 277
any requested record that is redacted for public dissemination in 278
accordance with the provisions of this section. 279
(e) If the Freedom of Information Commission determines that a 280
public agency has violated any provision of this section, the Freedom of 281
Information Commission may order the public agency to refund any 282
payment made under this section. 283
Sec. 3. Subsections (a) and (b) of section 1 -212 of the general statutes 284
are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof ( Effective 285
October 1, 2026): 286
(a) Any person applying in writing shall receive, promptly upon 287
request, a plain, facsimile, electronic or certified copy of any public 288
record. The type of copy provided shall be within the discretion of the 289
public agency, except (1) the agency shall provide a certified copy 290
whenever requested, and (2) if the applicant does not have access to a 291
computer or facsimile machine, the public agency shall not send the 292
applicant an electronic or facsimile copy. [The] Except as provided in 293
section 2 of this act, the fee for any copy provided in accordance with 294
the Freedom of Information Act: 295
(A) By an executive, administrative or legislative office of the state, a 296
state agency or a department, institution, bureau, board, commission, 297
authority or official of the state, including a committee of, or created by, 298
such an office, agency, department, institution, bureau, board, 299
commission, authority or official, and also including any judicial office, 300
official or body or committee thereof but only in respect to its or their 301
administrative functions, shall not exceed twenty -five cents per page; 302
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and 303
(B) By all other public agencies, as defined in section 1 -200, shall not 304
exceed fifty cents per page. If any copy provided in accordance with said 305
Freedom of Information Act requires a transcription, or if any person 306
applies for a transcription of a public record, the fee for such 307
transcription shall not exceed the cost thereof to the public agency. 308
(b) The fee for any copy provided in accordance with subsection (a) 309
of section 1-211 shall not exceed the cost thereof to the public agency. 310
[In] Except as provided in section 2 of this act, in determining such costs 311
for a copy, other than for a printout which exists at the time that the 312
agency responds to the request for such copy, an agency may include 313
only: 314
(1) An amount equal to the hourly salary attributed to all agency 315
employees engaged in providing the requested computer-stored public 316
record, including their time performing the formatting or programming 317
functions necessary to provide the copy as requested, but not including 318
search or retrieval costs except as provided in subdivision (4) of this 319
subsection; 320
(2) An amount equal to the cost to the agency of engaging an outside 321
professional electronic copying service to provide such copying 322
services, if such service is necessary to provide the copying as requested; 323
(3) The actual cost of the storage devices or media provided to the 324
person making the request in complying with such request; and 325
(4) The computer time charges incurred by the agency in providing 326
the requested computer -stored public record where another agency or 327
contractor provides the agency with computer storage and retrieval 328
services. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the fee for 329
any copy of the names of registered voters shall not exceed three cents 330
per name delivered or the cost thereof to the public agency, as 331
determined pursuant to this subsection, whichever is less. The 332
Department of Administrative Services shall provide guidelines to 333
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agencies regarding the calculation of the fees charged for copies of 334
computer-stored public records to ensure that such fees are reasonable 335
and consistent among agencies. 336
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

Section 1 October 1, 2026 29-6d
Sec. 2 October 1, 2026 New section
Sec. 3 October 1, 2026 1-212(a) and (b)

GAE Joint Favorable

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The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of
the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not
represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general,
fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional
knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final
products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $
Various State Agencies Various -
Potential
Revenue Gain
See Below See Below
Note: Various=Various
Municipal Impact:
Municipalities Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $
Municipal Police Departments Potential
Revenue
Gain
See Below See Below

Explanation
The bill results in a potential revenue gain to various state agencies 1
and municipal police departments by allowing such agencies, under
certain circumstances, to charge a fee for redacting body and dashboard
camera recordings prior to disclosure under the Freedom of Information
Act. The bill prohibits an agency from charging a fee for the first four
hours of its labor costs for redacting the requested record. Beyond this,
such agencies may charge up to $100 per hour of the requested
recording’s actual duration.
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would

1 These agencies include, but are not limited to, the Connecticut State Police, the
University of Connecticut Police Department, the police departments of the
Connecticut State Colleges & Universities, the Department of Mental Health and
Addiction Services Police, and the Environmental Conservation Police in the
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
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continue into the future subject to the number of requested records
eligible for redaction fees.

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OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 225

AN ACT CONCERNING FEES FOR COPYING, REVIEWING AND
REDACTING RECORDS CREATED BY POLICE BODY -WORN
RECORDING EQUIPMENT AND DASHBOARD CAMERAS.

SUMMARY
This bill sets conditions under which public agencies may charge a
fee for redacting (such as by obscuring, pixelating, or muting) body and
dashboard camera recordings requested under the state’s Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA). It prohibits an agency from charging any fee
for the first four hours of its labor costs to redact the requested record.
Then, for any additional labor costs beyond those four hours, it allows
the agency to charge a rate up to the hourly wage of the lowest -paid
employee with the training required to redact the record, but no more
than $100 per hour for the requested recording’s actual duration. The
agency must maintain an original, unredacted copy of any requested
record that is redacted for public dissemination.
However, an agency may not charge any redaction fee under certain
circumstances, such as when the requestor is an involved person in the
requested record or the record shows certain types of incidents (such as
a shooting that involved a police officer). Under the bill, an “involved
person” is any (1) individual depicted in a body or dashboard camera
recording; (2) individual directly involved in the incident that led to the
police officer being called to respond; or (3) responding polic e officer,
including the officer who created the recording.
For certain types of body and dashboard camera recordings, the bill
sets additional redaction and disclosure requirements. Among other
things, it requires that recordings showing certain confidential events
(such as encounters with undercover officers) be redacted and permits
disclosure of a record of a minor in additional circumstances.
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Lastly, the bill makes technical and conforming changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2026
REDACTION FEES
Fee Calculation
Under existing law, fees for copies of public records (including body
and dashboard camera recordings) are set by FOIA unless the law
provides otherwise (see BACKGROUND). Generally, FOIA does not
allow public agencies to charge requestors for the time spen t redacting
a record.
The bill generally allows public agencies that maintain copies of body
or dashboard camera recordings to charge requestors a redaction fee,
but only for the time in excess of four hours they spend redacting the
requested recordings.
Beyond four hours, the bill allows an agency to charge the hourly
wage (the base salary excluding benefits) of the lowest -paid employee
with the necessary training to redact the record. The bill prohibits
agencies from charging for (1) time spent searching for the requested
records, (2) an attorney hired to do a second review of the record, or (3)
a digital management company’s services.
Under the bill, the redaction fee may not exceed $100 per hour of the
actual length of time of the requested record. The agency may round up
the actual length of time to the nearest half hour at the rate of $50 per
half hour (for example, for a 5 hour and 10 minute-long recording, an
agency could charge no more than $5 50). Agencies (1) must inform the
requestor if the fee is estimated to exceed $250, (2) may require
prepayment in these cases, and (3) must refund any portion of a
prepayment that exceeds the actual labor costs.
The bill allows the Freedom of Information Commission (FOIC) to
order a refund of a payment or prepayment if it finds that a public
agency violated these fee provisions.
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Fee Prohibitions and Waivers
The bill prohibits public agencies from charging any redaction fee to
a requesting party who is an (1) involved person in the requested record;
(2) involved person’s parent or legal guardian; or (3) attorney
representing an involved person in a civil, crim inal, or administrative
matter. It also prohibits fees from being charged:
1. for records that depict a police officer (a) involved in a shooting
or motor vehicle accident or (b) giving a formal statement about
the use of force, or
2. if there is an allegation of misconduct by the police officer
involved or the officer is the subject of a disciplinary
investigation.
The bill specifies that these records remain subject to the disclosure
limitations under current law and the bill.
The bill also requires agencies to waive the redaction fee for the same
reasons that FOIA requires copying fees to be waived. FOIA generally
requires these fee waivers for (1) political subdivisions’ elected officials
getting records from their own agency for official business; (2) indigent
people; (3) public defenders; (4) records exempt from disclosure; and (5)
requests that benefit the general welfare, as determined by the agency.
DISCLOSURE AND REDACTION OF BODY CAMERA RECORDINGS
Additional Disclosure Requirements
With certain exceptions, existing law generally prohibits disclosing
recordings of a minor. Under current law, a recording of a minor must
be disclosed if the minor and his or her parent or guardian consent to
disclosure, it is needed by defense counsel, or it is needed by a person
representing a police officer in a matter related to a minor’s allegation
of misconduct by the officer. The bill additionally requires disclosure if
the (1) minor is an involved person and (2) parent or guardian is a
requesting party or also an involved person.
Additional Redaction Requirements
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The bill requires redaction of body and dashboard camera recordings
of any of the following, which under current law are confidential and
generally exempt from disclosure under FOIA:
1. communications between law enforcement unit personnel,
except those that may be recorded as an officer does his or her
duties;
2. encounters with undercover officers, informants, or officers
doing certain detective work;
3. officers on break or engaging in a personal activity;
4. someone undergoing a medical or psychological evaluation,
procedure, or treatment;
5. anyone, other than a criminal suspect, in a hospital or other
medical facility;
6. a mental health facility, unless the recording was made during a
response to a call involving a criminal suspect thought to be at
the facility;
7. scenes of an incident involving victims of domestic or sexual
abuse, homicide or suicide, or a fatal accident, if disclosure could
reasonably be expected to be an unwarranted invasion of the
victim’s personal privacy; or
8. a minor.
BACKGROUND
FOIA Fees
If a public record is maintained in a computer storage system, FOIA
allows public agencies to charge the following for producing copies of
it:
1. the hourly salary attributed to all agency employees engaged in
providing the requested record (including their time doing
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necessary formatting or programming functions, but not search
or retrieval costs);
2. the cost of an outside professional electronic copying service, if
needed;
3. the actual cost of the storage devices or media given to the
requestor; and
4. computer time charges if a contractor or another agency provides
the storage and retrieval services.
Related Case
In a case decided in 2023, FOIC rejected a law enforcement agency’s
attempt to charge a requestor for labor costs to pixelate and mute a body
camera recording. Specifically, FOIC ruled that these actions were not
formatting or programming within the meanin g of FOIA’s fee
provisions (because the agency used existing software and did not need
to develop a program or contract with an outside entity to develop one)
(FIC 2022-0176 (2023)).
COMMITTEE ACTION
Government Administration and Elections Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 19 Nay 0 (03/11/2026)