HOUSE BILL REPORT
HB 1845
As Reported by House Committee On:
Appropriations
Title: An act relating to establishing a body worn camera grant program.
Brief Description: Establishing a body worn camera grant program.
Sponsors: Representatives Mosbrucker, Orwall, Jacobsen, Rule, Shewmake and Graham.
Brief History:
Committee Activity:
Appropriations: 1/20/22, 1/25/22 [DP].
Brief Summary of Bill
  • Requires the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs to develop and implement a body camera grant program.
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Majority Report: Do pass.Signed by 32 members:Representatives Ormsby, Chair; Bergquist, Vice Chair; Gregerson, Vice Chair; Macri, Vice Chair; Stokesbary, Ranking Minority Member; Chambers, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Corry, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; MacEwen, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Boehnke, Caldier, Chandler, Chopp, Cody, Dolan, Dye, Fitzgibbon, Frame, Hansen, Harris, Jacobsen, Johnson, J., Lekanoff, Pollet, Rude, Ryu, Schmick, Senn, Springer, Steele, Stonier, Sullivan and Tharinger.
Staff: Yvonne Walker (786-7841).
Background:

The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) is a statewide organization consisting of executive and management personnel from law enforcement agencies.  Membership includes sheriffs, police chiefs, the Washington State Patrol, the Department of Corrections, and representatives of several federal agencies.  The 1975 Washington Legislature made the WASPC a statutory entity by designating the association as a "combination of units of local government."
 
The WASPC has been tasked with managing certain statewide programs, such as the Jail Booking and Reporting System.  Additionally, it has been given administrative responsibility for several state-funded grant programs, including grant programs addressing gang crime, graffiti and tagging abatement, denied firearm purchase attempts, sexual assault kits, metal theft, and mental health field response.
 
Body cameras are small video cameras typically worn on the body by law enforcement officers to record arrests and evidence from crimes and to document interactions law enforcement has with individuals in the community.
Summary of Bill:

Subject to appropriation, the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) must develop and implement a body camera grant program.  Grants may be used for the initial purchase, maintenance, and replacement of body-worn cameras.  Grant funding may also be used for maintenance and storage data costs, costs associated with public records requests relating to body-worn camera footage, and for the hiring of staff to operate a body-worn camera program.
 
Law enforcement agencies awarded grants must comply with state statutes relating to the use of body cameras, be able to redact information exempt from public inspection, provide training to officers who wear body cameras, and comply with data collection and reporting requirements established by the WASPC.
 
The WASPC must annually submit a report regarding the grant program to the Governor and appropriate committees of the Legislature by December 1 of each year the program is funded.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Requested on January 12, 2022.
Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the session in which the bill is passed.
Staff Summary of Public Testimony:

(In support) Many local law enforcement agencies are wearing and using body cameras today but there are many agencies that currently do not have them.  Body camera programs are vital to police departments, but the startup costs can be very costly.  One local police department estimates that the costs for equipment, storage, and management for a body camera program is $450,000.  One of the major cost drivers associated with police departments wanting to implement a body camera program is the impact of responding to requests under the Public Records Act.  The goal of body camera programs is to increase transparency for both citizens and law enforcement.  They can not only assist with videotaping suspects that need to be interviewed in the field, but they can also help verify legitimate complaints from citizens.

 

(Opposed) None.
Persons Testifying: Representative Gina Mosbrucker, prime sponsor; Sharon Swanson, Association of Washington Cities; Jay Hunziker, Goldendale Police Department; Matt Murray, Yakima Police Department; Robert Songer, Klickitat County Sheriff's Office; and Steve Strachan, Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.
Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying: None.