HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 5142        FILED ON: 6/17/2020

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No.         

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Frank A. Moran and David M. Rogers

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to the right to record activities of law enforcement officials while such officials are performing public business in public spaces.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 5142        FILED ON: 6/17/2020

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No.         

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court
(2019-2020)

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An Act relative to the right to record activities of law enforcement officials while such officials are performing public business in public spaces.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Chapter 12 of the General Laws, is hereby amended by inserting after section 34, the following section:-

Section 35. The Right to Record.

(a) Subject to reasonable time, place and manner restrictions, all persons shall have the right to record activities of law enforcement officials while such officials are performing public business in a public space, including on a public way, during traffic stops, and during investigations outside of the police station or office, regardless of whether the law enforcement official had knowledge of said recording.

(b) Law enforcement officials shall have no expectation of privacy while such officials are performing public business in a public space, including on a public way, during traffic stops, and during investigations outside of the police station or office.

(c) Under this section, it shall be deemed unreasonable for a law enforcement official to interfere with, prevent, use force, seize or arrest a person for recording a law enforcement official’s communication in public, so long as the person videotaping a law enforcement official does not  impair the official’s work in public spaces and in such circumstances the law enforcement official is not eligible for the defense of qualified immunity.

(d) Any person prevented from recording a law enforcement official who is conducting their business in public shall have the right to institute and prosecute in his own name and on his own behalf, under sections 11H and 11I of this chapter, a civil action for injunctive and other appropriate relief including the award of compensatory damages. Any aggrieved person or persons who prevail in an action authorized by this section shall be entitled to an award of the costs of the litigation and reasonable attorneys' fees in an amount to be fixed by the court.

(e) Recording of law enforcement official’s conduct by a person under this section, shall not be considered an interception of wire or oral communications and shall not be regarded as “secret” for the purposes of section 99 of chapter 272 of the Massachusetts General Laws. 

(f) For the purposes of this section, “law enforcement officer'' means any officer in Massachusetts, or a political subdivision of the state, who is empowered by law to conduct investigations of, or to make arrests for the designated offenses.