SB 505 New Mexico Senate · 2025 Regular Session

LAW ENFORCEMENT USE OF BODY CAMERAS

SB 505 requires all New Mexico law enforcement agencies - including campus police departments at public colleges and universities - to mandate body-worn cameras for officers during public interactions. It sets specific rules: cameras must activate during calls or encounters, cannot be turned off until after the encounter ends, and recordings must be kept for at least 120 days. Officers who fail to comply face a legal presumption of "bad faith" and potential liability for failing to preserve evidence. The bill is currently pending, having been postponed indefinitely in June 2025 after committee amendments.

Issues: ✓ Criminal Justice

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 20, 2025 Last action Jun 3, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

introduced version → JU substitute · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was amended by the Judiciary Committee to strengthen enforcement of body-worn camera requirements for peace officers. Key changes include adding a requirement that non-compliance must be 'knowing or intentional' to trigger liability, clarifying the definition of 'undercover operation' with additional criteria, and inserting committee tracking information throughout the document.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on requiring peace officers to wear body-worn cameras, but the enforcement mechanism was tightened by specifying that liability only applies to knowing or intentional failures to comply.

ENFORCEMENT

Changed the standard for officer liability from general failure to comply to requiring that the failure be 'knowing or intentional' before being presumed to have acted in bad faith.

DEFINITION

Added specific criteria to the definition of 'undercover operation' to clarify when the body-worn camera requirement does not apply, including requirements about ongoing criminal investigations and concealed identities.

TECHNICAL

Inserted Judiciary Committee substitute tracking numbers and labels throughout the document to identify the version as a committee substitute rather than the original introduced version.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 1, 2025

Upper · Passed

DO NOT PASS, replaced with committee substitute

upper

Feb 24, 2025

Upper · Passed

DO PASS, as amended, committee report adopted

upper

Feb 20, 2025

Introduced

Sent to Senate Rules Committee & Senate Judiciary Committee

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors