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SB-719 Law enforcement agencies: radio communications.(2023-2024)

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Date Published: 01/23/2024 09:00 PM
SB719:v96#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Senate  January 23, 2024
Amended  IN  Senate  March 29, 2023
Amended  IN  Senate  March 20, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 719

Introduced by Senator Becker

February 16, 2023

An act to add Section 13675 to the Penal Code, relating to law enforcement agencies.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 719, as amended, Becker. Law enforcement agencies: radio communications.
Existing law establishes the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS) to make specified criminal justice databases, including individual criminal histories, wanted and missing persons, and stolen firearms, vehicles, and property, available to participating law enforcement agencies. Existing law prohibits unauthorized access to CLETS and the unlawful use of CLETS information by authorized users.
Existing law authorizes the Attorney General to adopt policies, procedures, and practices related to the use of CLETS. These rules require a participating agency to restrict access to CLETS and define “access” as the ability to see or hear any information obtained from CLETS.
This bill would require a law enforcement agency, including the Department of the California Highway Patrol, municipal police departments, county sheriff’s departments, and specified local law enforcement agencies, and specified university and college police departments, to, by no later than January 1, 2024, 2025, ensure public access, in real time, to the radio communications of that agency, as specified. The bill would exempt university and college police departments from the public access requirement. By imposing new duties on local law enforcement, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.
This bill would also require those law enforcement agencies to ensure that any criminal justice information or personally identifiable information obtained through CLETS is not broadcast in a manner that is accessible to the public, as specified.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Since the 1920s, news outlets, journalists, and the public have had access to police radio communications. This access is critical for police transparency, accountability, and reporting public safety news and activity to the community expeditiously.
(b) By its very name, public safety involves both the public and the safety professionals who protect them. Encryption of public safety radio communications has largely focused on its impact to public safety officers without consideration of the public’s vested interest. This bill seeks to correct that imbalance by continuing to protect sensitive information from public distribution while also ensuring the transparency of nonsensitive communications that Californians have come to expect.
(c) This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Law Enforcement Communications Transparency Act.

SEC. 2.

 Section 13675 is added to the Penal Code, to read:

13675.
 (a) (1) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (3) and subdivision (b), each law enforcement agency shall, by no later than January 1, 2024, 2025, ensure that all radio communications are accessible to the public in real time.
(2) A law enforcement agency may comply with this subdivision in any manner that provides reasonable public access to radio communications, including, without limitation, any of the following means:
(A) Use of unencrypted radio communications on a radio frequency that is able to be monitored by commonly available radio scanning equipment.
(B) Online streaming of radio communications accessible through the agency’s internet website.
(C) Upon request and for a reasonable fee, providing access to encrypted communications to any interested person.
(3) This subdivision does not apply to either of the following:
(A) Any encrypted A radio channel used exclusively for the exchange or dissemination of confidential information pursuant to subdivision (b).
(B) Any encrypted A radio channel that is used for tactical operations, operations, threat or security operations, undercover operations, or other communications that would unreasonably jeopardize public safety or the safety of officers if made public.
(b) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), each law enforcement agency shall enact policies that prevent or substantially minimize criminal justice information or personally identifiable information directly obtained through the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS) from being broadcast in a manner that is accessible to the public.
(2) A law enforcement agency may comply with this subdivision in any manner that safeguards confidential CLETS information, including, without limitation, any of the following means:
(A) The limited use of an encrypted channel as described in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) for the exchange or dissemination of confidential information.
(B) Transmission of confidential information to a mobile data terminal, tablet, or other text display device.
(C) Communication of confidential information via telephone or other private device-to-device communication.
(3) This subdivision does not apply to either of the following:
(A) Confidential information that has previously been made public through a bulletin, alert, or other means.
(B) The broadcast of confidential information that is immediately necessary for the safety of the public or the safety of officers under circumstances where compliance with this subdivision is not reasonable.
(c) Each law enforcement agency shall, by no later than January 1, 2024, 2025, adopt a written policy implementing this section.
(d) This section does not limit the responsibility of any entity not covered by this section to comply with any law or regulation regarding the usage of CLETS.
(e) As used in this section, the following phrases are defined as follows:
(1) “Law enforcement agency” means a department or agency of the state, or any political subdivision thereof, that employs any peace officer as described in Section 830 and that has the primary function of providing uniformed patrol and general law enforcement services to the public. “Law enforcement agency” includes, without limitation, any municipal police department, county sheriff’s department, police department of the University of California, the California State University, or community college, airport, port, harbor, park, or transit district, and the California Highway Patrol. For the purposes of this section, “Law enforcement agency” does not include the police department of the University of California, the California State University, or a community college.
(2) “Radio communications” means verbal communications that are broadcast over a radio frequency either from a dispatch center to field personnel, from field personnel to a dispatch center, or between field personnel, and are accessible to all personnel monitoring that frequency. “Radio communications” does not include private communications between two devices, such as a cellular telephone, or the transmittal of data to or from a mobile data terminal, tablet, text messaging device, or similar device.

SEC. 3.

 If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.