A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to provide the city of winston‑salem with the flexibility to provide law enforcement agency recordings to the citizens' police review board and to amend the court proceedings for law enforcement RECORDINGS for the city of winston‑salem.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 132‑1.4A reads as rewritten:
"§ 132‑1.4A.  Law enforcement agency recordings.
(a)	Definitions. – The following definitions apply in this section:
(1)	Body‑worn camera. – An operational video or digital camera or other electronic device, including a microphone or other mechanism for allowing audio capture, affixed to the uniform or person of law enforcement agency personnel and positioned in a way that allows the camera or device to capture interactions the law enforcement agency personnel has with others.
(2)	Custodial law enforcement agency. – The law enforcement agency that owns or leases or whose personnel operates the equipment that created the recording at the time the recording was made.
(3)	Dashboard camera. – A device or system installed or used in a law enforcement agency vehicle that electronically records images or audio depicting interaction with others by law enforcement agency personnel. This term does not include body‑worn cameras.
(4)	Disclose or disclosure. – To make a recording available for viewing or listening to by the person requesting disclosure, at a time and location chosen by the custodial law enforcement agency. This term does not include the release of a recording.
(5)	Personal representative. – A parent, court‑appointed guardian, spouse, or attorney of a person whose image or voice is in the recording. If a person whose image or voice is in the recording is deceased, the term also means the personal representative of the estate of the deceased person; the deceased person's surviving spouse, parent, or adult child; the deceased person's attorney; or the parent or guardian of a surviving minor child of the deceased.
(6)	Recording. – A visual, audio, or visual and audio recording captured by a body‑worn camera, a dashboard camera, or any other video or audio recording device operated by or on behalf of a law enforcement agency or law enforcement agency personnel when carrying out law enforcement responsibilities. This term does not include any video or audio recordings of interviews regarding agency internal investigations or interviews or interrogations of suspects or witnesses.
(7)	Release. – To provide a copy of a recording.
(b)	Public Record and Personnel Record Classification. – Recordings are public records as defined by G.S. 132‑1 and are subject to disclosure and release within a reasonable time frame, as determined by the law enforcement agency in possession of the recordings, unless a court order from a court of competent jurisdiction precluding the disclosure or release of the recordings has been obtained pursuant to subsection (e) of this section. Before disclosing or releasing the recordings, the law enforcement agency in possession of the recordings shall notify, in writing, at least five calendar days before disclosing or releasing the recordings, the district attorney, each employee and person whose image is captured in the recordings, and their personal representatives, if known, provided that the law enforcement agency in custody of the recordings is able to determine, after exercising reasonable measures, the identity and location of each person whose image is captured in the recordings. Three calendar days shall be allowed for mailing. If upon the expiration of the five‑day notice and the three‑day mailing period a petition for an order has not been filed, the law enforcement agency in possession of the recordings may disclose or release the requested recordings. The return of any written notice, as undeliverable or for any other reason, shall not create liability for the law enforcement agency or the city of that agency and shall not preclude the disclosure or release of the recordings by the law enforcement agency in possession of such. Before any recordings are disclosed to the Citizens' Police Review Board in open session, the aforementioned notification process must be adhered to. Recordings are not personnel records as defined in Part 7 of Chapter 126 of the General Statutes, G.S. 160A‑168, or G.S. 153A‑98.

	

	

	

	

	

	

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(c)	Court Order Prohibiting Disclosure or Release of Recordings. – Any person, including the district attorney, or the law enforcement agency in possession of the recordings or the city of such agency, may file an action or petition to the Forsyth County Superior Court for an order prohibiting the disclosure or release of the recordings. If such action or petition is filed, the petitioner must serve a copy of the action or petition upon the city of the law enforcement agency in custody of the recordings in accordance with G.S. 1A‑1, Rule 4, unless the petitioner is said law enforcement agency. If the petitioner is not the district attorney, a copy of the action or petition filed must be served upon the district attorney in accordance with G.S. 1A‑1, Rule 4. Upon receipt of the action or petition filed pursuant to this subsection, the law enforcement agency in possession of the recordings and the city shall refrain from disclosing or releasing the recordings until the court has rendered a decision. Any disclosure or release of the recordings must adhere to said decision. In determining whether to enter such an order, the court shall consider the following:
(1)	Disclosure or release may jeopardize public safety.
(2)	The recording contains information that is otherwise confidential or exempt from disclosure or release under State or federal law.
(3)	Disclosure or release would reveal information regarding a person that is of a highly sensitive personal nature.
(4)	Disclosure or release may harm the reputation or jeopardize the safety of a person.
(5)	Disclosure or release would create a serious threat to the fair, impartial, and orderly administration of justice.
(6)	Confidentiality is necessary to protect either an active or inactive internal or criminal investigation or a potential internal or criminal investigation.
(7)	There is good cause shown to prohibit the disclosure or release of all or portions of a recording.
The court may conduct an in camera review of the recordings. The court may preclude disclosure or release of all or portions of the recordings until such time the basis for prohibiting the disclosure or release of the recordings ceases to exist. Actions or petitions brought pursuant to this subsection shall be set down for hearing as soon as practicable and subsequent proceedings in such actions shall be accorded priority by the trial and appellate courts.
(d)	Release of Recordings; Law Enforcement Purposes. – Notwithstanding the requirements of subsections (c), (f), and (g) of this section, a custodial law enforcement agency shall disclose or release a recording to a district attorney (i) for review of potential criminal charges, (ii) in order to comply with discovery requirements in a criminal prosecution, (iii) for use in criminal proceedings in district court, or (iv) any other law enforcement purpose, and may disclose or release a recording for any of the following purposes:
(1)	For law enforcement training purposes.
(2)	Within the custodial law enforcement agency for any administrative, training, or law enforcement purpose.
(3)	To another law enforcement agency for law enforcement purposes.
(e)	Retention of Recordings. – Any recording subject to the provisions of this section shall be retained for at least the period of time required by the applicable records retention and disposition schedule developed by the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, Division of Archives and Records.
(f)	Agency Policy Required. – Each law enforcement agency that uses body‑worn cameras or dashboard cameras shall adopt a policy applicable to the use of those cameras.
(g)	No civil liability shall arise from compliance with the provisions of this section, provided that the acts or omissions are made in good faith and do not constitute gross negligence, willful or wanton misconduct, or intentional wrongdoing.
(h)	Fee for Copies. – A law enforcement agency may charge a fee to offset the cost incurred by it to make a copy of a recording for release. The fee shall not exceed the actual cost of making the copy.
(i)	Attorneys' Fees. – The court may not award attorneys' fees to any party in any action brought pursuant to this section."
SECTION 2.  This act shall apply to the City of Winston‑Salem only.
SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.