Read the full stored bill text
Florida Senate
-
2026
SB 616
By
Senator Smith
17-00746-26 2026616__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to Florida Highway Patrol body camera
3 use; creating s. 321.51, F.S.; defining terms;
4 requiring members of the Florida Highway Patrol to
5 wear a functioning body camera under certain
6 circumstances; specifying that the body camera must
7 remain activated under certain circumstances;
8 requiring the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
9 Vehicles to adopt certain policies and procedures,
10 ensure compliance with certain public records and
11 retention requirements, and provide certain training;
12 authorizing the department to contract with third
13 party vendors to provide storage for body camera
14 recordings; providing that an officer who does not
15 comply with certain requirements, policies, and
16 procedures may be subject to disciplinary action;
17 exempting Florida Highway Patrol body camera
18 recordings from specified provisions relating to the
19 interception of wire, electronic, and oral
20 communications; amending s. 943.1718, F.S.; revising
21 the definitions of the terms “law enforcement agency”
22 and “law enforcement officer”; providing an
23 appropriation; providing an effective date.
24
25 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
26
27 Section 1. Section 321.51, Florida Statutes, is created to
28 read:
29
321.51
Use of body cameras required
.—
30
(1) As used in this section, the term:
31
(a) “Body camera”
means a portable electronic recording
32
device that is worn on a
n
officer’s person
and which
records
33
audio and video data
in the course of the officer performing his
34
or her official duties and responsibilities
.
35
(b) “Department” means the Department of Highway Safety and
36
Motor Vehicles.
37
(c) “Officer” means a member of the Florida Highway Patrol.
38
(2) Each officer shall wear a functioning body camera while
39
on duty and engaged in an official law enforcement-related
40
activity or public interaction. The camera must remain activated
41
during law enforcement encounters, traffic stops, pursuits, and
42
arrests and any situation in which the officer’s actions could
43
become the subject of an investigation or complaint.
44
(3) The department shall:
45
(a) Adopt written policies and procedures governing the
46
proper use, activation, deactivation, maintenance, and storage
47
of body cameras.
48
(b) Ensure compliance with the public records and retention
49
requirements of s. 119.071(2)(l).
50
(c) Provide training to all officers on the appropriate use
51
of body cameras, and legal considerations related thereto.
52
(4) The department may contract with a third-party vendor
53
to provide secure cloud-based data storage for body camera
54
recordings which is consistent with the state’s cybersecurity
55
standards.
56
(5) An officer who does not comply with the requirements of
57
this section or with the policies and procedures of the
58
department relating to body camera use may be subject to
59
disciplinary action.
60
(6)
Chapter 934 does not apply to body camera recordings
61
made by
officers wearing body cameras in accordance with this
62
section
.
63 Section 2. Paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (1) of
64 section 943.1718, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
65 943.1718 Body cameras; policies and procedures.—
66 (1) As used in this section, the term:
67 (b) “Law enforcement agency” means an agency that has a
68 primary mission of preventing and detecting crime and enforcing
69 the penal, criminal, traffic, and motor vehicle laws of the
70 state and in furtherance of that primary mission employs law
71 enforcement officers as defined in s. 943.10
, except that the
72
term does not include the Florida Highway Patrol
.
73 (c) “Law enforcement officer” has the same meaning as
74 provided in s. 943.10
, except that the term does not include a
75
member of the Florida Highway Patrol
.
76 Section 3.
For the 2026-2027 fiscal year,
the nonrecurring
77
sum of $2 million is appropriated from the General Revenue Fund
78
to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to
79
implement this act. The funds must be used for the purchase,
80
maintenance, and storage of body cameras; to provide officer
81
training; and to provide secure, cloud-based data storage for
82
body camera recordings.
83 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.