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To prohibit charging for access to certain camera video footage.
Summary
The bill requires states and local governments seeking federal law enforcement grants to certify that they do not charge the public fees to view or access body camera footage, dash camera footage, jail or prison surveillance footage, or other law enforcement agency footage. States and local governments that fail to provide this certification become ineligible for funding under the Byrne grant programs and the COPS grant program. The bill covers any program or activity that receives funds from either of these federal grant programs.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
16 cosponsors
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC)
- Rep. Clarke, Yvette D. [D-NY-9] (D-NY)
- Rep. Espaillat, Adriano [D-NY-13] (D-NY)
- Rep. Evans, Dwight [D-PA-3] (D-PA)
- Rep. García, Jesús G. "Chuy" [D-IL-4] (D-IL)
- Rep. Grijalva, Adelita S. [D-AZ-7] (D-AZ)
- Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank" [D-GA-4] (D-GA)
- Rep. Lee, Summer L. [D-PA-12] (D-PA)
- Rep. McIver, LaMonica [D-NJ-10] (D-NJ)
- Rep. Norcross, Donald [D-NJ-1] (D-NJ)
- Rep. Omar, Ilhan [D-MN-5] (D-MN)
- Rep. Pressley, Ayanna [D-MA-7] (D-MA)
- Rep. Ramirez, Delia C. [D-IL-3] (D-IL)
- Rep. Simon, Lateefah [D-CA-12] (D-CA)
- Rep. Stansbury, Melanie A. [D-NM-1] (D-NM)
- Rep. Velázquez, Nydia M. [D-NY-7] (D-NY)
Actions (3)
- Jan 15, 2026 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. · house
- Jan 15, 2026 Introduced in House
- Jan 13, 2026 Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H697)
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Full text
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. <all>
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