SB 973 Connecticut Senate · 2025 Regular Session

AN ACT PERMITTING REDACTION FEES FOR THE DISCLOSURE OF RECORDS CREATED BY POLICE BODY-WORN RECORDING EQUIPMENT OR DASHBOARD CAMERAS UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.

SB 973 allows law enforcement agencies to charge fees when redacting personal information (like names or identifying details) from police body camera or dashboard camera footage provided under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). It directly affects people requesting such footage (requesting parties) and individuals depicted in the recordings (involved persons). The bill creates a formal process for agencies to impose these fees, rather than providing unredacted footage at no cost, while maintaining requirements for redaction standards. The law takes effect October 1, 2025.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 22, 2025 Last action Mar 12, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Proposed Bill Committee Bill · 8 edits
MODERATE
The bill was amended from a proposed version to a committee version, significantly expanding its scope from simply authorizing redaction fees to establishing comprehensive requirements for police body-worn cameras and dashboard cameras under the Freedom of Information Act. The committee version adds detailed definitions, technical specifications, usage requirements, and disclosure timelines that were not present in the original proposal.
Scope change
The bill's scope expanded from a general authorization of redaction fees to include specific operational requirements for law enforcement units, detailed definitions of key terms, technical specifications for equipment, and structured disclosure procedures under the Freedom of Information Act.
DEFINITION

Added ten new definitions including 'law enforcement unit', 'police officer', 'body-worn recording equipment', 'dashboard camera', 'digital data storage device or service', 'police patrol vehicle', 'freedom of information act', 'requesting party', 'involved person', and 'redact'.

REQUIREMENT

Added requirements for the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection and Police Officer Standards and Training Council to jointly evaluate and approve minimal technical specifications for recording equipment and storage devices.

Added mandatory usage requirements for police officers to wear body-worn recording equipment while interacting with the public, with specific positioning requirements above the midline of the torso.

Added requirement for each law enforcement unit to require dashboard camera usage in each police patrol vehicle based on unit policy and guidelines.

ENFORCEMENT

Added restrictions prohibiting law enforcement employees from editing, erasing, copying, sharing, or altering recordings except as required by state or federal law.

TIMELINE

Added specific disclosure timelines requiring recordings to be disclosed within 48-96 hours for formal statements or disciplinary investigations, with a maximum 144-hour delay for medical or psychological reasons.

SCOPE

Modified the bill title and purpose to explicitly state that redaction fees apply to records created under the Freedom of Information Act, expanding the original scope beyond just fee authorization.

ELIGIBILITY

Removed the original simple statement of purpose that only authorized redaction fees for time and money spent reviewing records, replacing it with comprehensive operational requirements.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
12
Key actions
2
Committee
4
Feb 25, 2025
Upper · Passed
Joint Favorable
upper
Feb 6, 2025
Committee
REF. TO JOINT COMM. ON Government Oversight
upper
Feb 5, 2025
Upper · Passed
DRAFTED BY COMMITTEE
upper
Jan 22, 2025
Committee
REF. TO JOINT COMM. ON Government Oversight
upper
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

No sponsor information available.