HB 741 – SB 1174
FISCAL NOTE
Fiscal Review Committee
Tennessee General Assembly
February 23, 2025
Fiscal Analyst: Natalie Dusek | Email: natalie.dusek@capitol.tn.gov | Phone: 615-741-2564
HB 741 – SB 1174
SUMMARY OF BILL: Establishes that only law enforcement officers with the authority to
conduct searches and make arrests are permitted to wear a body camera. Requires a law
enforcement agency (LEA) that uses body cameras to adopt a written policy regarding the use of
such cameras by its law enforcement officers. Requires each policy to include, at a minimum,
guidelines on the use of body cameras by officers to ensure that cameras are worn in a location and
manner that maximizes the footage captured, standards for when an officer must enable and disable
recording functions, and requirements for officers to notify the subjects of the recording that they
are being recorded as soon as reasonably possible. Establishes other requirements and exceptions
for the use of body cameras under various circumstances.
Requires all LEAs to also adopt a written policy for the retention of the data by the agency. Requires
all recordings to be automatically retained for six months from the date of recording and then
permanently deleted. Requires recordings to be automatically retained for three years if they involve
any use of force, events leading up to or constituting a felony offense, or if voluntarily requested by
certain parties for various reasons within six months following the recording.
Requires LEAs to provide all officers with a copy of each written policy and training regarding the
use of body cameras and access to recordings. Establishes a procedure for LEAs to take disciplinary
action against employees who fail to adhere to the specified requirements, and requires each LEA to
adopt a written policy regarding such disciplinary action and procedures.
FISCAL IMPACT:
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
EXPENDITURES Mandatory
FY25-26 $4,675,000
FY26-27 & Subsequent Years $9,350,000
Article II, Section 24 of the Tennessee Constitution provides that: no law of general application shall impose increased expenditure
requirements on cities or counties unless the General Assembly shall provide that the state share in the cost.
Assumptions:
• The precise number of LEAs that currently utilize body cameras is not known.
• There is estimated to be a total of 311 county and municipal LEAs within the state. Based
on information provided by the Tennessee Sheriffs Association (TSA) and the Tennessee
Association of Chiefs of Police (TACP), it is estimated that approximately 60 percent, or
187 agencies (311 x 60%), currently use body cameras.
HB 741 – SB 1174 2
• The proposed legislation requires all body camera recordings to be retained for a minimum
of six months, and in many cases, three years before being permanently deleted.
• Based on information provided by the TSA and TACP, recordings are currently retained
until a prosecutorial decision is made by the District Attorney General. If the LEA decides
that the recording is unnecessary and no charges are brought pertaining to the actions
captured in the recording, it is typically deleted. Otherwise, the recording is stored until the
statute of limitations for civil lawsuits has passed, or for 13 months.
• LEAs that elect to use body cameras enter contracts with vendors that supply the related
materials and software. Based on information provided by the TSA and TACP, one relevant
vendor estimated that the increased data storage and management would increase
expenditures by $100,000 annually under the current contract provisions.
• An exact cost estimate for each LEA cannot be reasonably determined due to differences in
the vendors used and the nature of the contracts with such vendors. This analysis assumes
that the average cost for an LEA to acquire the necessary data management capabilities
required by the legislation will be approximately $100,000 per impacted agency.
• It is assumed that some agencies may already be in substantive compliance with storage
requirements of this legislation and would not incur significant increases in storage costs.
The share of such LEAs is unknown but assumed to be 50 percent.
• Therefore, it is assumed that the recurring mandatory increase in local expenditures related
to data storage will exceed $9,350,000 (187 LEAs x 50% x $100,000 data storage and
management) in FY25-26 and subsequent years. It is further assumed that the first-year
(FY25-26) impact will be equal to 50 percent of the full-year impact, or $4,675,000
($9,350,000 x 50%).
• It is reasonably assumed that all LEAs that elect to use body cameras have established a
written policy prior to the use of such cameras.
• However, LEAs will be required to update their current written policies in order to comply
with the minimum guidelines specified by the proposed legislation. LEAs will also be
required to provide officers with training in accordance with the new policy requirements.
In some cases, additional IT and legal staff or other personnel may be required to help
manage the processing and storage of the footage, and respond to legal proceedings and
records requests.
• It is assumed such requirements will not result in a significant increase in local expenditures
to most agencies that utilize body cameras.
• Based on information provided by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations and the
Department of Safety, it is assumed that state agencies can comply with the legislation’s
requirements within existing resources.
CERTIFICATION:
The information contained herein is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.
Bojan Savic, Executive Director