HB 976 revises O.C.G.A. § 50-18-96 relative to law enforcement recording devices.

      HB 976 requires that video recordings from law enforcement body-worn devices or devices located on or inside vehicles be retained for 180 days from the date of recording. Exceptions to this regulation are as follows: if a recording is a part of a criminal investigation, shows a vehicular accident, shows the detainment or arrest of an individual, or shows an officer’s use of force, it shall be retained for 30 months; or if there exists reasonable anticipation of pending litigation, it shall be retained for 30 months.

      Any video recording destroyed pursuant to the retention schedule provided in this revised code section shall be deemed to have been properly destroyed and no evidentiary presumption of guilt shall be made that such recording was harmful to law enforcement officer or agency depicted in the recording.

      HB 976 also forbids any governing body or law enforcement officer to have a duty to redact or obscure people, objects, or information that appears in a video recording.