On February 16, 2024, Associate Policy Director Sarah Sample testified before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee in support of SB 624- Task Force to Study Public Information Act Requests Made to Law Enforcement- Establishment with amendments. This bill re-establishes a task force to study costs, procedures, and compliance board decisions for Maryland Public Information Act (MPIA) requests made to law enforcement agencies.
MPIA requests to law enforcement agencies have increased exponentially in the last few years. With new body-worn camera mandates rolling out across Maryland, the availability of highly sensitive video footage has exploded. A thorough study of standards and guidelines for how MPIA requests get reviewed, redacted and released is long overdue.
From MACo Testimony:
Counties applaud this effort to establish a task force and appreciate the inclusion of a county representative as well as a local law enforcement member on the task force. But with the new availability of highly sensitive and complex documents coming from body-worn cameras, the dynamics of how all files are reviewed and released has changed substantially. For these reasons, local governments believe it is imperative for local law enforcement custodians to be included in the task force.
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