119-hr1188

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1188 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 1188

 To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to 
 authorize a grant program to assist State and local law enforcement 
 agencies in purchasing body-worn cameras and securely storing and 
 maintaining recorded data for law enforcement officers.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 February 11, 2025

 Mr. Cohen introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to 
 authorize a grant program to assist State and local law enforcement 
 agencies in purchasing body-worn cameras and securely storing and 
 maintaining recorded data for law enforcement officers.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Police Creating Accountability by 
Making Effective Recording Available Act of 2025'' or the ``Police 
CAMERA Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT BODY-WORN CAMERAS.

 Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 
(34 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``PART MM--MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT BODY-WORN CAMERAS 
 AND RECORDED DATA

``

SEC. 3031. GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

 ``

    (a) In General.--The Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance 
(in this section referred to as the `Director') may make grants to 
States, units of local government, and Indian Tribes to purchase or 
lease body-worn cameras for use by State, local, and Tribal law 
enforcement officers (as defined in 

section 2503) and expenses related 
to the implementation of a body-worn camera program in order to deter 
excessive force, improve accountability and transparency of use of 
force by law enforcement officers, assist in responding to complaints 
against law enforcement officers, and improve evidence collection.
 ``

    (b) Duration of Grants.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--Grants awarded under this part shall be 
 2 years in duration.
 ``

    (2) Disbursement of grant amount.--In disbursing a grant 
 awarded to an entity under this section--
 ``
        (A) upon awarding the grant to the entity, the 
 Director shall disburse 50 percent of the total grant 
 amount to the entity; and
 ``
        (B) upon demonstration by the entity of 
 completion of the requirements in subsection
            (d) (1) , 
 the Director shall disburse the remaining 50 percent of 
 the total grant amount to the entity.
 ``
            (c) Use of Funds.--Grants awarded under this section shall be--
 ``

    (1) distributed directly to the State, unit of local 
 government, or Indian Tribe; and
 ``

    (2) used for--
 ``
        (A) the purchase or lease of body-worn cameras 
 for law enforcement officers on patrol in the 
 jurisdiction of the grantee;
 ``
        (B) any costs relating to the implementation of a 
 body-worn camera program, including law enforcement 
 officer training or the storage, maintenance, or 
 security of recorded data collected under a body-worn 
 camera program; or
 ``
            (C) implementing policies or procedures to comply 
 with the requirements described in subsection
            (d) .
 ``
            (d) Requirements.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--The Director shall award a grant under 
 this section to a State, unit of local government, or Indian 
 Tribe requesting the grant that commits to--
 ``
        (A) establishing policies and procedures in 
 accordance with the requirements described in paragraph

    (2) before law enforcement officers use of body-worn 
 cameras;
 ``
        (B) adopting recorded data collection and 
 retention protocols as described in paragraph

    (3) before law enforcement officers use of body-worn 
 cameras;
 ``
            (C) making the policies and protocols described 
 in subparagraphs
        (A) and
        (B) available to the public; 
 and
 ``
            (D) complying with the requirements for use of 
 recorded data under paragraph

    (5) .
 ``

    (2) Required policies and procedures.--An entity 
 receiving a grant under this section shall--
 ``
        (A) develop with community input and publish for 
 public view policies and protocols for--
 ``
            (i) the safe and effective use of body-
 worn cameras;
 ``
            (ii) the secure storage, handling, and 
 destruction of recorded data collected by body-
 worn cameras;
 ``
            (iii) protecting the privacy rights of 
 any individual who may be recorded by a body-
 worn camera;
 ``
            (iv) protecting the constitutional rights 
 of any individual on whom facial recognition 
 technology is used;
 ``
            (v) limitations on the use of body-worn 
 cameras in conjunction with facial recognition 
 technology for instances, including--
 ``
            (I) the use of facial recognition 
 technology only with judicial 
 authorization;
 ``
            (II) the use of facial 
 recognition technology only for 
 imminent threats or serious crimes; and
 ``
            (III) the use of facial 
 recognition technology with double 
 verification of identified faces;
 ``
            (vi) the release of any recorded data 
 collected by a body-worn camera in accordance 
 with the open records laws, if any, of the 
 State; and
 ``
            (vii) making recorded data available to 
 prosecutors, defense attorneys, and other 
 officers of the court in accordance with 
 paragraph

    (5) ; and
 ``
        (B) conduct periodic evaluations of the security 
 of the storage and handling of the body-worn camera 
 data.
 ``

    (3) Recorded data collection and retention protocol.--The 
 recorded data collection and retention protocol described in 
 this paragraph is a protocol that--
 ``
        (A) requires--
 ``
            (i) a law enforcement officer who is 
 wearing a body-mounted camera to provide an 
 explanation if an activity that is required to 
 be recorded by the body-mounted camera is not 
 recorded;
 ``
            (ii) a law enforcement officer who is 
 wearing a body-mounted camera to obtain consent 
 to be recorded from a crime victim or witness 
 before interviewing the victim or witness;
 ``
            (iii) the collection of recorded data 
 unrelated to a legitimate law enforcement 
 purpose be minimized to the greatest extent 
 practicable;
 ``
            (iv) the system used to store recorded 
 data collected by body-worn cameras shall log 
 all viewing, modification, or deletion of 
 stored recorded data and shall prevent, to the 
 greatest extent practicable, the unauthorized 
 access or disclosure of stored recorded data;
 ``
            (v) any law enforcement officer be 
 prohibited from accessing the stored data 
 without an authorized purpose; and
 ``
            (vi) the law enforcement agency to 
 collect and report statistical data on--
 ``
            (I) incidences of use of force, 
 disaggregated by race, ethnicity, 
 gender, and age of the victim;
 ``
            (II) the number of complaints 
 filed against law enforcement officers;
 ``
            (III) the disposition of 
 complaints filed against law 
 enforcement officers;
 ``
            (IV) the number of times camera 
 footage is used for evidence collection 
 in investigations of crimes; and
 ``
            (V) any other additional 
 statistical data that the Director 
 determines should be collected and 
 reported;
 ``
        (B) allows an individual to file a complaint with 
 a law enforcement agency relating to the improper use 
 of body-worn cameras; and
 ``
            (C) complies with any other requirements 
 established by the Director.
 ``

    (4) Reporting.--Statistical data required to be collected 
 under paragraph

    (3)
        (A)
            (vi) shall be reported to the Director, 
 who shall--
 ``
        (A) establish a standardized reporting system for 
 statistical data collected under this program; and
 ``
        (B) establish a national database of statistical 
 data recorded under this program.
 ``

    (5) Use or transfer of recorded data.--
 ``
        (A) In general.--Recorded data collected by an 
 entity receiving a grant under this section from a 
 body-mounted camera shall be used only in internal and 
 external investigations of misconduct by a law 
 enforcement agency or officer, if there is reasonable 
 suspicion that a recording contains evidence of a 
 crime, or for limited training purposes. The Director 
 shall establish rules to ensure that the recorded data 
 is used only for the purposes described in this 
 subparagraph.
 ``
        (B) Prohibition on transfer.--Except as provided 
 in subparagraph
            (C) , an entity receiving a grant under 
 this section may not transfer any recorded data 
 collected by the entity from a body-mounted camera to 
 another law enforcement or intelligence agency.
 ``
            (C) Exceptions.--
 ``
            (i) Criminal investigation.--An entity 
 receiving a grant under this section may 
 transfer recorded data collected by the entity 
 from a body-mounted camera to another law 
 enforcement agency or intelligence agency for 
 use in a criminal investigation if the 
 requesting law enforcement or intelligence 
 agency has reasonable suspicion that the 
 requested data contains evidence relating to 
 the crime being investigated.
 ``
            (ii) Civil rights claims.--An entity 
 receiving a grant under this section may 
 transfer recorded data collected by the law 
 enforcement agency from a body-mounted camera 
 to another law enforcement agency for use in an 
 investigation of any right, privilege, or 
 immunity secured or protected by the 
 Constitution or laws of the United States.
 ``

    (e) Matching Funds.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph

    (3) , the 
 Federal share of the cost of a program carried out using a 
 grant under this part may not exceed 75 percent of the total 
 cost of the program.
 ``

    (2) Indian assistance.--Any funds appropriated by 
 Congress for the activities of any agency of an Indian Tribal 
 government or the Bureau of Indian Affairs performing law 
 enforcement functions on any Indian lands may be used to 
 provide the non-Federal share of the matching requirement 
 described in paragraph

    (1) .
 ``

    (3) Waiver.--The Director may waive, in whole or in part, 
 the matching requirement described in paragraph

    (1) in the case 
 of fiscal hardship, as determined by the Director.
 ``

    (f) Allocation of Funds.--For fiscal years 2026 through 2028, of 
the amounts appropriated to the Bureau of Justice Assistance, 
$30,000,000 shall be used to carry out this part.
 ``

    (g) Audit and Assessment.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
 enactment of this part, the Director of the Office of Audit, 
 Assessment, and Management shall perform an assessment of the 
 grant program and the policies and protocols of the grantees.
 ``

    (2) Reports.--Not later than September 1 of each year, 
 beginning 2 years after the date of enactment of this part, 
 each recipient of a grant under this part shall submit to the 
 Director of the Office of Audit, Assessment, and Management a 
 report that--
 ``
        (A) describes the progress of the body-worn 
 camera program; and
 ``
        (B) contains recommendations on ways in which the 
 Federal Government, States, and units of local 
 government can further support the implementation of 
 the program.
 ``

    (3) Review.--The Director of the Office of Audit, 
 Assessment, and Management shall evaluate the policies and 
 protocols of the grantees and take such steps as the Director 
 of the Office of Audit, Assessment, and Management determines 
 necessary to ensure compliance with the program.

``

SEC. 3032. BODY-WORN CAMERA TRAINING TOOLKIT.

 ``

    (a) In General.--The Director shall establish and maintain a 
toolkit for law enforcement agencies, academia, and other relevant 
entities to provide training and technical assistance, including best 
practices for implementation, model policies and procedures, and 
research materials.
 ``

    (b) Mechanism.--In establishing the toolkit required to under 
subsection

    (a) , the Director may consolidate research, practices, 
templates, and tools that been developed by expert and law enforcement 
agencies across the country.

``

SEC. 3033. APPLICATIONS.

 ``

    (a) In General.--To request a grant under this part, the chief 
executive of a State, unit of local government, or Indian Tribe shall 
submit an application to the Director in a form and containing 
information as the Director may reasonably require.
 ``

    (b) Regulations.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this part, the Director shall promulgate regulations to 
implement this part, including the information that shall be included 
and the requirements that the States, units of local government, and 
Indian Tribes must meet in submitting the applications required under 
this section.

``

SEC. 3034. STUDY.

 ``

    (a) In General.--Not later than 2 years after the date on which 
all grants are awarded under this part, the Director shall conduct a 
study on--
 ``

    (1) the efficacy of body-worn cameras in deterring 
 excessive force by law enforcement officers;
 ``

    (2) the impact of body-worn cameras on the accountability 
 and transparency of the use of force by law enforcement 
 officers;
 ``

    (3) the impact of body-worn cameras on responses to and 
 adjudications of complaints of excessive force;
 ``

    (4) the effect of the use of body-worn cameras on the 
 safety of law enforcement officers on patrol;
 ``

    (5) the effect of the use of body-worn cameras on public 
 safety;
 ``

    (6) the impact of body-worn cameras on evidence 
 collection for criminal investigations;
 ``

    (7) issues relating to the secure storage and handling of 
 recorded data from the body-worn cameras;
 ``

    (8) issues relating to the privacy of citizens and 
 officers recorded on body-worn cameras;
 ``

    (9) issues relating to the constitutional rights of 
 individuals on whom facial recognition technology is used;
 ``

    (10) issues relating to limitations on the use of facial 
 recognition technology;
 ``

    (11) issues relating to the public's access to body-worn 
 camera footage;
 ``

    (12) the need for proper training of law enforcement 
 officers that use body-worn cameras;
 ``

    (13) best practices in the development of protocols for 
 the safe and effective use of body-worn cameras;
 ``

    (14) a review of law enforcement agencies that found 
 body-worn cameras to be unhelpful in the operations of the 
 agencies; and
 ``

    (15) any other factors that the Director determines are 
 relevant in evaluating the efficacy of body-worn cameras.
 ``

    (b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date on which the 
study required under subsection

    (a) is completed, the Director shall 
submit to Congress a report on the study, which shall include any 
policy recommendations that the Director considers appropriate.''.
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