Stop Body Camera Paywalls Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7125 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7125

    To prohibit charging for access to certain camera video footage.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 15, 2026

  Ms. Tlaib (for herself, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Espaillat, Mr. 
   Evans of Pennsylvania, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Mrs. Grijalva, Mr. 
Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Mrs. McIver, Mr. Norcross, 
   Ms. Norton, Ms. Omar, Ms. Pressley, Mrs. Ramirez, Ms. Simon, Ms. 
Stansbury, and Ms. Velazquez) introduced the following bill; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To prohibit charging for access to certain camera video footage.

    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 ``Stop Body Camera Paywalls Act''.

SEC. 2. PROVIDING ACCESS TO CERTAIN CAMERA FOOTAGE FREE OF CHARGE.

    (a) Certification Required for Certain Grants.--An application by a 
State or a unit of local government for funding under a covered program 
shall include a certification that such State, unit of local 
government, and any law enforcement agency to which the State or unit 
of local government will distribute funds, does not impose any 
financial or monetary cost on any member of the public seeking to view, 
access, or obtain a copy of certain camera video footage recorded by a 
law enforcement officer, or impose any other fees related to obtaining 
certain camera footage, including court fees.
    (b) Eligibility.--A State or unit of local government shall be 
ineligible for funding under a covered program without providing the 
certification described under subsection (a).
    (c) Covered Program Defined.--In this section:
            (1) Byrne grant program.--The term ``Byrne grant program'' 
        means any grant program under subpart 1 of part E of title I of 
        the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 
        U.S.C. 10151 et seq.), without regard to whether the funds are 
        characterized as being made available under the Edward Byrne 
        Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Programs, 
        the Local Government Law Enforcement Block Grants Program, the 
        Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program, or 
        otherwise.
            (2) Certain camera video footage.--The term ``certain 
        camera video footage'' includes--
                    (A) body camera video footage recorded by a law 
                enforcement officer;
                    (B) dash camera video footage recorded by a law 
                enforcement officer;
                    (C) jail, prison, or correctional facility 
                surveillance footage; or
                    (D) any other relevant law enforcement agency 
                footage.
            (3) COPS grant program.--The term ``COPS grant program'' 
        means the grant program authorized under section 1701 of title 
        I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 
        U.S.C. 10381).
            (4) Covered program.--The term ``covered program'' means 
        any program or activity funded in whole or in part with funds 
        made available under--
                    (A) a Byrne grant program; and
                    (B) the COPS grant program.
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