Bill seeks disclosure of police surveillance policies

SACRAMENTO — A state lawmaker has revived legislation that would require law enforcement agencies across California to disclose all of their surveillance equipment and enact public policies for their use of the technology.

The bill by Sen. Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) also would require officers to fill out a report every two years on how they have used the tools. Police departments would have to seek approval from their city council on their public surveillance policies. Sheriff ’s departments and district attorney’s offices would not, but county boards of supervisors could request their disclosure.

Similar laws drafted by Hill already exist for automatic license-plate readers and devices that simulate cellphone towers. But a Los Angeles Times review of records from 20 of the state’s largest police and sheriff ’s departments, plus the Alameda County district attorney’s office, found some agencies had been slow to follow or have ignored the law.

Hill first tried to improve those disclosure laws last year, but that bill was shelved in a committee amid fiscal concerns.

This year, he is trying again as civil rights lawyers and advocates say more transparency is necessary because of concerns that the use of surveillance tools against immigrant and Muslim communities have risen under the Trump administration.

“It’s important to strike a balance between the needs of law enforcement in crimefighting and the public’s right to know and rights to privacy,” Hill said in a statement.