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.
MACo asked that the Task Force’s charge be expanded to include the laws around release of body-worn cameras under the Public Information Act. That matter is still unresolved, despite multiple groups making reference to the unsettled matter, and counties argue this body would be well suited to evaluate those matters.
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.
SB 624 was heard in the opposite chamber, the House Judiciary Committee, on March 28. MACo submitted testimony in support of this bill with amendments.
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