HB 2319 Summary

• Creates a new criminal offense (A.R.S. § 13-3732) prohibiting knowingly making video recordings of law enforcement activity within 8 feet of where the activity is occurring, after receiving a verbal warning from an officer to stop.

• Allows people who are subjects of police contact or occupants of stopped vehicles to record encounters without the 8-foot restriction, provided they do not interfere with lawful police actions such as searching, handcuffing, or administering field sobriety tests.

• Permits authorized occupants of enclosed structures on private property to record law enforcement activity from an adjacent room or area less than 8 feet away, unless an officer determines the person is interfering or creates a safety hazard.

• Violation of the recording prohibition is classified as a class 3 misdemeanor.

• Defines "law enforcement activity" to include questioning suspicious persons, conducting arrests, issuing summons, enforcing the law, and handling emotionally disturbed or disorderly persons exhibiting abnormal behavior.