This act adds a definition for mobile video recorders to the portion of the state's open records law regarding police records and allows law enforcement agencies to close data from mobile video recorders. A mobile video recorder is defined as any system or device with a camera and recording capabilities that captures visual signals and can be installed in a vehicle, vessel, or aircraft, or is worn or carried by law enforcement personnel.

Under current law, any person may bring a court action to request the disclosure of closed police records. This act provides that if the court authorizes the disclosure, the court may make any order that justice requires including specifying terms and conditions for the disclosure, the method of the disclosure, limiting the scope of the disclosure, limiting the people that may be present during the disclosure, and limiting the disclosure of a trade secret or other confidential research, development, or commercial information.

Current law provides that the court may require the party seeking disclosure of an investigative report to bear the reasonable and necessary costs and attorneys' fees for both parties unless the court finds that the decision to close the report was unjustified, in which case the court may assess the costs and fees to the law enforcement agency.

This act adds data from mobile video recorders to the provision regarding costs and attorneys' fees and provides that the court may require that the party seeking disclosure bears its own costs and attorneys' fees unless the decision to close the records was unjustified, in which case the court must assess the costs and fees to the law enforcement agency.

These provisions are similar to SB 550 (2015), HB 987 (2015), and SS/SCS/SBs 331 & 21 (2015).

MEGHAN LUECKE