Florida SB 616: Motor Vehicle Dealers

Bill Text

616 
Florida Highway Patrol Body Camera Use 
2025-11-20T05:29:25Z 
Requiring members of the Florida Highway Patrol to wear a functioning body camera under certain circumstances; requiring the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to adopt certain policies and procedures, ensure compliance with certain public records and retention requirements, and provide certain training; providing that an officer who does not comply with certain requirements, policies, and procedures may be subject to disciplinary action, etc. 
Original Filed Version 
2026 
S 
2026-07-01T00:00:00Z 
GB 
General Bill 
__ 

 Florida Senate - 2026 SB 616 

 By Senator Smith 

 17-00746-26 2026616__ 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to Florida Highway Patrol body camera 
 3 use; creating s. 321.51, F.S.; defining terms; 
 4 requiring members of the Florida Highway Patrol to 
 5 wear a functioning body camera under certain 
 6 circumstances; specifying that the body camera must 
 7 remain activated under certain circumstances; 
 8 requiring the Department of Highway Safety and Motor 
 9 Vehicles to adopt certain policies and procedures, 
 10 ensure compliance with certain public records and 
 11 retention requirements, and provide certain training; 
 12 authorizing the department to contract with third 
 13 party vendors to provide storage for body camera 
 14 recordings; providing that an officer who does not 
 15 comply with certain requirements, policies, and 
 16 procedures may be subject to disciplinary action; 
 17 exempting Florida Highway Patrol body camera 
 18 recordings from specified provisions relating to the 
 19 interception of wire, electronic, and oral 
 20 communications; amending s. 943.1718, F.S.; revising 
 21 the definitions of the terms “law enforcement agency” 
 22 and “law enforcement officer”; providing an 
 23 appropriation; providing an effective date. 
 24 
 25 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 26 
 27 Section 1. Section 321.51, Florida Statutes, is created to 
 28 read: 
 29 321.51 Use of body cameras required.— 
 30 (1) As used in this section, the term: 
 31 (a) “Body camera” means a portable electronic recording 
 32 device that is worn on an officer’s person and which records 
 33 audio and video data in the course of the officer performing his 
 34 or her official duties and responsibilities. 
 35 (b) “Department” means the Department of Highway Safety and 
 36 Motor Vehicles. 
 37 (c) “Officer” means a member of the Florida Highway Patrol. 
 38 (2) Each officer shall wear a functioning body camera while 
 39 on duty and engaged in an official law enforcement-related 
 40 activity or public interaction. The camera must remain activated 
 41 during law enforcement encounters, traffic stops, pursuits, and 
 42 arrests and any situation in which the officer’s actions could 
 43 become the subject of an investigation or complaint. 
 44 (3) The department shall: 
 45 (a) Adopt written policies and procedures governing the 
 46 proper use, activation, deactivation, maintenance, and storage 
 47 of body cameras. 
 48 (b) Ensure compliance with the public records and retention 
 49 requirements of s. 119.071(2)(l). 
 50 (c) Provide training to all officers on the appropriate use 
 51 of body cameras, and legal considerations related thereto. 
 52 (4) The department may contract with a third-party vendor 
 53 to provide secure cloud-based data storage for body camera 
 54 recordings which is consistent with the state’s cybersecurity 
 55 standards. 
 56 (5) An officer who does not comply with the requirements of 
 57 this section or with the policies and procedures of the 
 58 department relating to body camera use may be subject to 
 59 disciplinary action. 
 60 (6) Chapter 934 does not apply to body camera recordings 
 61 made by officers wearing body cameras in accordance with this 
 62 section. 
 63 Section 2. Paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (1) of 
 64 section 943.1718, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 
 65 943.1718 Body cameras; policies and procedures.— 
 66 (1) As used in this section, the term: 
 67 (b) “Law enforcement agency” means an agency that has a 
 68 primary mission of preventing and detecting crime and enforcing 
 69 the penal, criminal, traffic, and motor vehicle laws of the 
 70 state and in furtherance of that primary mission employs law 
 71 enforcement officers as defined in s. 943.10, except that the 
 72 term does not include the Florida Highway Patrol. 
 73 (c) “Law enforcement officer” has the same meaning as 
 74 provided in s. 943.10, except that the term does not include a 
 75 member of the Florida Highway Patrol. 
 76 Section 3. For the 2026-2027 fiscal year, the nonrecurring 
 77 sum of $2 million is appropriated from the General Revenue Fund 
 78 to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to 
 79 implement this act. The funds must be used for the purchase, 
 80 maintenance, and storage of body cameras; to provide o