Bill Summary: SB 304 - Police Transparency and Accountability

• Each law enforcement unit must develop and implement guidelines for recruitment, retention, and promotion of minority police officers to achieve racial, gender, ideological, and ethnic diversity by January 1, 2016.

• Police Officer Standards and Training Council must establish a standardized statewide complaint form allowing anonymous complaints against police officers, with data tracked and reported biannually to the public.

• Chief law enforcement officers must report to the council violations where officers used excessive or illegal force, failed to intervene in excessive force by other officers, intentionally intimidated or harassed persons based on protected class membership, or were terminated/dismissed/resigned; failure to report results in potential withholding of state funds.

• Officers may no longer stop vehicles for secondary traffic violations only; automated enforcement or mailed violations remain permitted for secondary violations.

• Study on school resource officers' impact on students with disabilities must be completed by December 1, 2022, examining funding mechanisms, efficacy metrics, chain of command structures, and memoranda of understanding processes.