Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

Tennessee House Bill HB0741 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1
2		-	SENATE BILL 1174
3		-	By Akbari
	2	+	<BillNo> <Sponsor>
4	3
5	4		HOUSE BILL 741
6	5		By McKenzie
7	6
8	7
9	8		HB0741
10	9		002861
11	10		- 1 -
12	11
13	12		AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 38,
14	13		Chapter 1, relative to body cameras for law
15	14		enforcement officers.
16	15
17	16		BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
18	17		SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 38, Chapter 1, is amended by adding
19	18		the following as a new part:
20	19		38-1-1001. As used in this part:
21	20		(1) "Body camera recording" or "recording" means any audio or video recording
22	21		taken by a law enforcement officer through use of a body camera;
23	22		(2) "Law enforcement agency" means a governmental unit of one (1) or more
24	23		persons employed full time or part time by the state, or political subdivision of the state,
25	24		for the purpose of preventing and detecting crime and enforcing laws or local ordinances
26	25		and the employees of which are authorized to make arrests for crimes while acting within
27	26		the scope of their authority;
28	27		(3) "Law enforcement officer" means any person authorized by law to conduct
29	28		searches and effectuate arrests and who is employed by the state, a county, a
30	29		municipality, or a metropolitan form of government;
31	30		(4) "Minor" means any person under eighteen (18) years of age;
32	31		(5) "Next of kin" means a person's spouse, parents, legal guardians,
33	32		grandparents, siblings, and children; and
34	33		(6) "Subject of the recording" means:
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39	38		(A) A person, including a law enforcement officer, suspect, victim,
40	39		detainee, conversant, injured party, or other similarly situated person, who
41	40		appears or can be heard on the body camera recording; and
42	41		(B) Does not include a person who only incidentally appears or is heard
43	42		on the body camera recording.
44	43		38-1-1002.
45	44		(a) A law enforcement agency that uses body cameras shall adopt a written
46	45		policy for the use of the body cameras by its law enforcement officers in compliance with
47	46		this part. Law enforcement officers must receive a copy of the written policy and training
48	47		in the use of body cameras before using such cameras. The training must include, at a
49	48		minimum, instruction on this part and the agency's written policy.
50	49		(b) Only law enforcement officers with the authority to conduct searches and
51	50		make arrests are permitted to wear a body camera. Law enforcement officers who serve
52	51		an undercover role are not subject to this part.
53	52		(c) A written policy adopted by a law enforcement agency pursuant to subsection
54	53		(a) must include, at a minimum, guidelines on the use of body cameras by law
55	54		enforcement officers to:
56	55		(1) Ensure that body cameras are worn by law enforcement officers in a
57	56		location and manner that maximizes the camera's ability to capture video footage
58	57		of the officer's activities;
59	58		(2) Provide standards for when a law enforcement officer must enable
60	59		and disable recording functions of the body camera, including:
61	60		(A) A requirement that a law enforcement officer activate a body
62	61		camera whenever responding to a call for service;
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67	66		(B) A requirement that body cameras be activated at the initiation
68	67		of a law enforcement or investigative encounter between a law
69	68		enforcement officer and a member of the public, except when there is an
70	69		immediate threat to the officer's or another's life or safety that makes
71	70		activating the body camera impossible or dangerous;
72	71		(C) A requirement that in situations as described in subdivision
73	72		(c)(2)(B) in which activating a body camera is impossible or dangerous, a
74	73		law enforcement officer must activate the camera at the first reasonable
75	74		opportunity to do so;
76	75		(D) A requirement that a law enforcement officer must not
77	76		deactivate a body camera until the encounter between a law enforcement
78	77		officer and a member of the public has fully concluded and the law
79	78		enforcement officer leaves the scene; and
80	79		(E) A requirement that a law enforcement officer currently at the
81	80		scene or arriving thereafter who is equipped with a body camera must
82	81		activate the camera and record the situation upon arrival, and that the
83	82		body camera must remain on until the officer leaves the scene; and
84	83		(3) Require law enforcement officers wearing body cameras to notify the
85	84		subjects of the recording that the subjects are being recorded by a body camera
86	85		as close to the inception of the encounter as is reasonably possible.
87	86		(d) Notwithstanding subsection (c), the written policy must make exceptions to
88	87		the use of body cameras in the following circumstances:
89	88		(1) Prior to entering a private residence without a warrant or in non-
90	89		exigent circumstances, a law enforcement officer shall ask the occupant if the
91	90		occupant wants the officer to discontinue use of the officer's body camera. If the
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96	95		occupant responds affirmatively, then the law enforcement officer must
97	96		immediately discontinue use of the body camera;
98	97		(2) When interacting with an apparent crime victim, including, but not
99	98		limited to, a victim of domestic abuse, as defined in § 36-3-601, or a victim of
100	99		rape, as defined in § 39-13-503, a law enforcement officer shall, as soon as
101	100		practicable, ask the victim if the victim wants the officer to discontinue use of the
102	101		officer's body camera. If the victim responds affirmatively, then the law
103	102		enforcement officer must immediately discontinue use of the body camera; and
104	103		(3) When interacting with a person seeking to anonymously report a
105	104		crime or assist in an ongoing law enforcement investigation, a law enforcement
106	105		officer shall, as soon as practicable, ask the person if the person wants the
107	106		officer to discontinue use of the officer's body camera. If the person responds
108	107		affirmatively, then the law enforcement officer must immediately discontinue use
109	108		of the body camera.
110	109		(e) Requests to discontinue use of a body camera made pursuant to subsection
111	110		(d), and the responses thereto, must be recorded by the body camera prior to
112	111		discontinuing use of the body camera.
113	112		38-1-1003.
114	113		(a) Body cameras must not be used in a manner inconsistent with the purposes
115	114		described in this part.
116	115		(b) Body cameras must not be used to gather intelligence information based on
117	116		First Amendment protected speech, association, or religion, or to record activity that is
118	117		unrelated to a response to a call for service or a law enforcement or investigative
119	118		encounter between a law enforcement officer and a member of the public.
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124	123		(c) Law enforcement officers must not activate a body camera while on the
125	124		grounds of any public, private, or parochial elementary or secondary school, as defined
126	125		in § 49-6-301, except when responding to an imminent threat to life or safety.
127	126		38-1-1004.
128	127		(a) A law enforcement agency providing a body camera to an officer as
129	128		authorized by this part shall establish a written policy for the retention of data by the
130	129		agency in compliance with this section.
131	130		(b) Except as provided in subsection (c), body camera recordings must be
132	131		retained by the law enforcement agency that employs the officer, or an authorized agent
133	132		as described in § 38-1-1005(d), whose body camera captured the recording, for six (6)
134	133		months from the date it was recorded, after which time the recording must be
135	134		permanently deleted.
136	135		(c) Notwithstanding subsection (b):
137	136		(1) Body camera recordings must be automatically retained for at least
138	137		three (3) years if the body camera recordings involve:
139	138		(A) Any use of force;
140	139		(B) Events leading up to and including an arrest for a felony
141	140		offense, or events that constitute a felony offense; or
142	141		(C) An encounter about which a complaint has been registered by
143	142		a subject of the body camera recording within the six (6) months following
144	143		the recording.
145	144		(2) Body camera recordings must be retained for at least three (3) years
146	145		if voluntarily requested, within six (6) months following the recording, by:
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151	150		(A) The law enforcement officer using the body camera, if that
152	151		officer reasonably asserts the recording has evidentiary or exculpatory
153	152		value;
154	153		(B) A law enforcement officer who is a subject of the body camera
155	154		recording, if that officer reasonably asserts the recording has evidentiary
156	155		or exculpatory value;
157	156		(C) A superior officer of a law enforcement officer using a body
158	157		camera or who is a subject of the recording, if that superior officer
159	158		reasonably asserts the recording has evidentiary or exculpatory value;
160	159		(D) A law enforcement officer, if the recording is being retained
161	160		solely and exclusively for police training purposes;
162	161		(E) A member of the public who is a subject of the recording;
163	162		(F) A parent or legal guardian of a minor who is a subject of the
164	163		recording; or
165	164		(G) A deceased subject's next of kin or legally authorized
166	165		designee.
167	166		(d) To effectuate subdivisions (c)(2)(E), (c)(2)(F), and (c)(2)(G), the persons
168	167		specified in those subdivisions may review the specific body camera recording in order
169	168		to make a determination as to whether the person will voluntarily request the recording
170	169		be subject to a three-year retention period.
171	170		(e) Body camera recordings are part of the public record for the purpose of
172	171		public inspection under § 10-7-503, except for the following:
173	172		(1) A body camera recording not subject to a minimum three-year
174	173		retention period pursuant to subsection (c);
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179	178		(2) A body camera recording that is subject to a minimum three-year
180	179		retention period solely and exclusively pursuant to subdivision (c)(1)(C), if the
181	180		subject of the body camera recording requests the body camera recordings not
182	181		be made available to the public;
183	182		(3) A body camera recording that is subject to a minimum three-year
184	183		retention period solely and exclusively pursuant to subdivisions (c)(2)(A),
185	184		(c)(2)(B), (c)(2)(C), or (c)(2)(D);
186	185		(4) A body camera recording that is subject to a minimum three-year
187	186		retention period solely and exclusively pursuant to subdivision (c)(2)(E), (c)(2)(F),
188	187		or (c)(2)(G), if the person makes a voluntary request that the body camera
189	188		recording not be made available to the public; and
190	189		(5) A body camera recording depicting circumstances described in § 10-
191	190		7-504(u).
192	191		(f) A law enforcement officer shall not review, or receive an accounting of, any
193	192		body camera recording that is subject to a minimum three-year retention period pursuant
194	193		to subdivision (c)(1) prior to completing any required initial reports, statements, and
195	194		interviews regarding the recorded event.
196	195		(g) A body camera recording retained beyond six (6) months solely and
197	196		exclusively pursuant to subdivision (c)(2)(D) is not admissible as evidence in any
198	197		criminal, civil, or administrative proceeding.
199	198		38-1-1005.
200	199		(a) A law enforcement agency providing a body camera to an officer as
201	200		authorized by this part shall adopt a written policy for access to body camera recordings
202	201		by the agency in compliance with this section.
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207	206		(b) Body camera recordings that are not subject to a minimum three-year
208	207		retention period pursuant to § 38-1-1004 are not subject to automated analysis or
209	208		analytics.
210	209		(c) Body camera recordings must not be divulged, or used by any law
211	210		enforcement agency, for any commercial or other non-law enforcement purpose.
212	211		(d) If a law enforcement agency authorizes a third party to act as its authorized
213	212		agent in maintaining body camera recordings, then the authorized agent is not permitted
214	213		to independently access, view, or alter any body camera recording, except to
215	214		permanently delete the recording as required by law or agency retention policies.
216	215		38-1-1006.
217	216		(a) If a law enforcement officer, employee, or authorized agent violates this part
218	217		regarding the use of body cameras, fails to adhere to the access to recordings and
219	218		retention requirements contained in this part or to any written policy enacted in
220	219		compliance with this part, or intentionally interferes with a body camera's ability to
221	220		accurately capture body camera recordings:
222	221		(1)
223	222		(A) The law enforcement agency shall take appropriate
224	223		disciplinary action against the individual officer, employee, or agent;
225	224		(B) The law enforcement agency shall adopt appropriate
226	225		standards for sanctions of an officer or employee who violates this part;
227	226		and
228	227		(C) The law enforcement agency shall specify in a contract with
229	228		an agent the disciplinary action that must take place if the agent violates
230	229		this part;
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235	234		(2) A rebuttable evidentiary presumption must be adopted in favor of
236	235		criminal defendants who reasonably assert that exculpatory evidence was
237	236		destroyed or not captured; and
238	237		(3) A rebuttable evidentiary presumption must be adopted on behalf of
239	238		civil plaintiffs suing the government, a law enforcement agency, or law
240	239		enforcement officers for damages based on police misconduct who reasonably
241	240		assert that evidence supporting the plaintiffs' claim was destroyed or not
242	241		captured.
243	242		(b) The law enforcement agency shall adopt a written policy setting forth
244	243		disciplinary action and procedures under subdivision (a)(1) in compliance with title 38,
245	244		chapter 8, part 3, § 8-30-319, and any other applicable law.
246	245		(c) The rebuttable presumptions in subsection (a) may be overcome by contrary
247	246		evidence or proof of exigent circumstances that made compliance with this part
248	247		impossible.
249	248		(d) A body camera recording created in contravention of this or any other
250	249		applicable law must be immediately destroyed and is not admissible as evidence in any
251	250		criminal, civil, or administrative proceeding.
252	251		(e) This part does not contravene any laws governing the maintenance and
253	252		destruction of evidence in criminal investigations and prosecutions.
254	253		SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it,
255	254		and applies to recordings on or after that date.