H.R. 7125

119 HR 7125 IH: Stop Body Camera Paywalls Act
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2026-01-15
 text/xml
 EN
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 I  119th CONGRESS  2d Session  H. R. 7125  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   January 15, 2026   Ms. Tlaib  (for herself,  Ms. Clarke of New York ,  Mr. Espaillat ,  Mr. Evans of Pennsylvania ,  Mr. García 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. Velázquez ) 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.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Stop Body Camera Paywalls Act  .
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.