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ENGROSSED SENATE
BILL NO. 968 By: Haste and Bergstrom of the
Senate
and
Dills of the House
An Act relating to the Oklahoma Open Records Act;
amending 51 O.S. 2011, Section 24A.8, as last amended
by Section 2, Chapter 370, O.S.L. 2015 (51 O.S. Supp.
2020, Section 24A.8), which relate s to disclosure of
law enforcement records; prohibiting disclosure of
certain audio or video record ings; authorizing
viewing of certain record ings under certain
circumstances; defining term; construing provisions;
and providing an effective date .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 51 O.S. 2011, Section 24A.8, as
last amended by Section 2, Chapter 370, O.S.L. 2 015 (51 O.S. Supp.
2020, Section 24A.8), is amended to read as follows:
Section 24A.8. A. Law enforcement agencies shall make
available for public inspection and copying, if kept, the following
records:
1. An arrestee description, including the name, date of birth,
address, race, sex, physical description, and occupation of the
arrestee;
2. Facts concerning the arrest, including the cause of arrest
and the name of the arresting officer;
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3. A chronological list of all incidents, including initial
offense report information showing the offense, date, time, general
location, officer, and a brief summary of what occurred;
4. Radio logs, including a chronological listing of the calls
dispatched;
5. Conviction information, including the name of any person
convicted of a criminal offense;
6. Disposition of all warrants, including orders signed by a
judge of any court commanding a law enforcement officer to arrest a
particular person;
7. A crime summary, incl uding an agency summary of crimes
reported and public c alls for service by classification or nature
and number;
8. Jail registers, including jail blotter data or jail booking
information recorded on persons at the time of incarceration showing
the name of each prisoner with the date and cause of commitment, t he
authority committing the prisoner, whether committed for a criminal
offense, a description of the prisoner, and the date or manner of
discharge or escape of the prisoner;
9. Audio and video record ings from recording equipment attached
to law enforcement vehicles or associated audio recordings from
recording equipment on the person of a law enforcement officer;
provided, the law enforcement agency may, before releasing any audio
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or video recording p rovided for in this paragraph, redact or obscure
specific portions of the recording which:
a. depict the death of a person or a dead body, unless
the death was effected by a law enforcement officer,
b. depict nudity,
c. would identify minors under the age of sixteen (16)
years or would undermine any requirement to keep
certain juvenile records confidential as provided for
in Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes,
d. depict acts of severe violence resulting in great
bodily injury, as defined in Section 11 -904 of Title
47 of the Oklahoma Statutes, against persons tha t are
clearly visible, unless the act of severe violence was
effected by a law enforcement officer,
e. depict great bodily injury, as defined in Section 11 -
904 of Title 47 of the Oklahoma Statutes, un less the
great bodily injury was effected by a law enfor cement
officer,
f. include personal medical information that is not
already public,
g. would undermine the assertion of a privilege provided
in Section 1-109 or Section 3-428 of Title 43A of the
Oklahoma Statutes for detention or transportation for
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mental health evaluation or treatment or drug or
alcohol detoxification purposes,
h. include personal information other than the name or
license plate number of a person not arrested, cited,
charged or issued a written warning. Such personal
information shall in clude any government-issued
identification number, date of birth, address or
financial information, or
i. reveal the identity of law enforcement officers who
have become subject to internal investigat ion by the
law enforcement agency as a result of an even t
depicted in the recording. The option to protect the
identity of a law enforcement officer shall not be
available to the law enforcement agency after the law
enforcement agency has concluded the in vestigation and
rendered a decision as to final discipli nary action.
At such time when an investigation has concluded and
the law enforcement agency has rendered its decision
as to final disciplinary action, the portions of the
recordings previously withh eld as provided for in this
subparagraph shall be availa ble for public inspection
and copying. The audio and video recordings withheld
as provided for in this subparagraph shall be
available for public inspection and copying before the
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conclusion of the investigation if the investigation
lasts for an unreasona ble amount of time; and
10. a. Audio and video recordings from recording equipment
attached to the person of a law enforcement officer
that depict:
(1) the use of any physical force or violence by a
law enforcement officer,
(2) pursuits of any kind,
(3) traffic stops,
(4) any person being arrested, cited, charged or
issued a written warning,
(5) events that directly led to any person being
arrested, cited, charged or receiving a written
warning,
(6) detentions of any length for the purpose of
investigation,
(7) any exercise of authority by a law enforcement
officer that deprives a citizen of his or her
liberty,
(8) actions by a law enforcement officer that have
become the cause of an investigation or ch arges
being filed,
(9) recordings in the public interest that may
materially aid a determination of whether law
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enforcement officers are appropriately performing
their duties as public servants, or
(10) any contextual events occurring before or after
the events depicted in divisions (1) through (9)
of this subparagraph.
b. Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph a of
this paragraph, the law enforcement agency may, before
releasing any audio or video recording provided for in
this paragraph, redact or obscure specific portions of
the recording that:
(1) depict the death of a person or a dead body,
unless the death was effected by a law
enforcement officer,
(2) depict nudity,
(3) would identify minors under the age of sixteen
(16) years or would undermi ne any requirement to
keep certain juvenile records conf idential as
provided for in Title 10A of the Oklahoma
Statutes,
(4) depict acts of severe violence resulting in great
bodily injury, as defined in Section 11 -904 of
Title 47 of the Oklahoma Statutes, against
persons that are clearly visible, unless the act
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of severe violence was effected by a law
enforcement officer,
(5) depict great bodily injury, as defined in Section
11-904 of Title 47 of the Oklahoma Statutes,
unless the great bodily injury was eff ected by a
law enforcement officer,
(6) include personal medical information that is not
already public,
(7) undermine the assertion of a privilege as
provided in Section 1 -109 or Section 3-428 of
Title 43A of the Oklahoma Statutes for detention
or transportation for mental health evaluation or
treatment or drug or alcohol detoxification
purposes,
(8) identify alleged victims of sex crimes or
domestic violence,
(9) identify any person who provides information to
law enforcement or the information provided b y
that person when that person requests anonymity
or where disclosure of the identity of the person
or the information provided could reasonably be
expected to threaten or endanger the physical
safety or property of the person or the physical
safety or property of others,
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(10) undermine the assertion of a privi lege to keep
the identity of an informer confidential as
provided for in Section 2510 of Title 12 of the
Oklahoma Statutes,
(11) include personal information other than the name
or license plate numbe r of a person not
officially arrested, cited, charged or issued a
written warning. Such personal information shall
include any government -issued identification
number, date of birth, address or financial
information,
(12) include information that would ma terially
compromise an ongoing criminal investigation or
ongoing criminal prosecution, provided that:
(a) ten (10) days following the formal
arraignment or initial appearance, whichever
occurs first, of a person charged in the
case in question, the recordi ng shall be
made available for public inspection and
copying with no redaction of the portions
that were temporarily withheld by reliance
on this division. Provided, before
potential release of a recording as provided
for in this subdivision, the prosecut or or
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legal representative of the person charged
may request from the appropriate district
court an extension of time during which the
recording may be withheld under the
provisions of this division. When a request
for an extension of time has been filed with
the court, the recording in question may be
withheld until the court has issued a
ruling. Such requests for an extension of
the time during which the recording may be
withheld may be made on the grounds that
release of the recording will materially
compromise an ongoing criminal investigation
or criminal prosecution or on the grounds
that release of the recording will
materially compromise the right of an
accused to a fair trial that has yet to
begin. Courts considering such requests
shall conduct a hearing and consider whether
the interests of the public outweigh the
interests asserted by the parties. In
response to such requests, the court shall
order that the recording be made available
for public inspection and copying with no
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redaction of the portions that were
temporarily withheld by reliance on thi s
division or order an extension of time
during which the recording may be withheld
under the provisions of this division.
Provided further, each such time extension
shall only be ordered by the cour t for an
additional six-month period of time or less
and cumulative time extensions shall not add
up to more than eighteen (18) months, or
(b) in the event that one hundred twenty (120)
days expire from the date of the events
depicted in the recording with out any person
being criminally charged in the case in
question and release of a recording or
portions of a recording have been denied on
the grounds provided for in this division,
an appeal of such denial may be made to the
appropriate district court. In situations
where one hundred twenty (120) days have
expired since the creation of the recording,
criminal charges have not been filed against
a person and the recording is being withheld
on the grounds provided for in this
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division, courts considering app eals to the
use of the provisions of this division for
temporarily withholding a recording shall
conduct a hearing and consider whether the
interests of the public outweigh the
interests of the parties protected by this
division. In response to such appea ls, the
district court shall order that the
recording be made available for public
inspection and copying with no redaction of
the portions that were temporarily withheld
by reliance on this division or order an
extension of time during which the recording
may be withheld under the provisions of this
division. An order granting an extension of
time shall be applicable to the recording
against all appellants for the duration of
the extension. Provided, each such time
extension shall only be ordered by the
district court for an additional twelve -
month period of time or less and cumulative
time extensions shall not add up to more
than three (3) years. Provided, charges
being filed against a person in the case in
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question automatically cancels any extension
of time. A new request for an extension of
time following an arraignment or initial
appearance may be requested by the parties
on the grounds and under the terms provided
for in subdivision (a) of this division.
The options presented in this division to
potentially withhold a recording or portions of a
recording on the grounds provided for in this
division shall expire in totality four (4) years
after the recording was made at which time all
recordings previously withheld on the grounds
provided for in this division shall be made
available for public inspection and copying, or
(13) reveal the identity of law enforcement officers
who have become subject to internal investigation
by the law enforcement agency as a result of an
event depicted in the recording. The option to
protect the identity of a law enforcement officer
shall not be available to the law enforcement
agency after the law enforcement agency has
concluded the investigation and rendered a
decision as to final disciplinary action. At
such time when an investigation has concluded and
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the law enforcement agency has rendered its
decision as to final disciplinary action, the
portions of the recordings previously withheld as
provided for in this division shall be available
for public inspection and cop ying. The audio and
video recordings withheld on the gr ounds provided
for in this division shall be available for
public inspection and copying before the
conclusion of the investigation if the
investigation lasts for an unreasonable amount of
time.
B. 1. Except for the records listed in subsection A of this
section and those made open by other state or local laws, law
enforcement agencies may deny access to law enforcement records
except where a court finds that the public interest or the interest
of an individual outweighs the reason for denial. The provis ions of
this section shall not operate to deny access to law enforcement
records if such records have been previously made available to the
public as provided in the Oklahoma Open Records Act or as ot herwise
provided by law.
2. a. A law enforcement agency shall deny access to any
audio or video recording that depicts the death of a
law enforcement officer who was acting in the course
of his or her official duties including any related
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acts or events immediately preceding or subsequent to
the acts or events that caused or otherwise relate to
the death, except where a court finds that the public
interest or the interest of an individual outw eighs
the reason for denial . Provided, however, a law
enforcement agency may allow a family member of the
deceased law enforcement officer to hear or view such
audio or video recording under protocols established
by the law enforcement agency . For the purposes of
this subparagraph, “family member” means a spouse,
adult child, parent or sibling of the decease d law
enforcement officer.
b. Nothing in subparagraph a of this paragra ph shall be
construed to prohibit the prosecution and defense
counsel from access to such audio or video recordings
or the use of such recordings as evidence in a legal
proceeding.
C. Nothing contained in this section imposes any new
recordkeeping requirements. Law enforcement records shall be kept
for as long as is now or may hereafter be specified by law. Absent
a legal requirement for the keeping of a law enforcement record for
a specific time period, law enforcement agencies shall maintain
their records for so long as needed for administrative purposes.
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D. Registration files maintained by the Department of
Corrections pursuant to the provisions of the Sex Offenders
Registration Act shall be made available for public inspection in a
manner to be determined by the Department.
E. The Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training
(C.L.E.E.T.) shall keep confidential all records it maintains
pursuant to Section 3311 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma St atutes and
deny release of records relating to any employed or certified full-
time officer, reserve officer, retired officer or other person;
teacher lesson plans, tests and other teaching materials; and
personal communications concerning individual studen ts except under
the following circumstances:
1. To verify the current certification status of any peace
officer;
2. As may be required to perform the duties imposed by Section
3311 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
3. To provide to any peace officer copies of the records of
that peace officer upon submitting a written request;
4. To provide, upon written request, to any law enforcement
agency conducting an official investigation, copies of the records
of any peace officer who is the subject of such investigation;
5. To provide final orders of administrative proceedings where
an adverse action was taken against a peace officer; and
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6. Pursuant to an order of the district court of the State of
Oklahoma.
F. The Department of Public Safety shall keep confidential:
1. All records it maintains pursuant to its authority under
Title 47 of the Oklahoma Statutes relating to the Oklahoma Highway
Patrol Division, the Communications Division, and other divisions of
the Department relating to:
a. training, lesson plans, teaching materials, tests, and
test results,
b. policies, procedures, and operations, any of which are
of a tactical nature, and
c. the following information from radio logs:
(1) telephone numbers,
(2) addresses other than the location of inciden ts to
which officers are dispatched, and
(3) personal information which is contrary to the
provisions of the Driver ’s Privacy Protection
Act, 18 United States Code, Sections 2721 through
2725; and
2. For the purpose of preventing identity theft and invasi on of
law enforcement computer systems, except as provided in Title 47 of
the Oklahoma Statutes, all driving records.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2021.
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Passed the Senate the 4th day of March, 2021.
Presiding Officer of the S enate
Passed the House of Representatives the ____ day of __________,
2021.
Presiding Officer of the House
of Representatives