HB 6126 Summary

• Permits nursing home residents or their representatives to install electronic monitoring devices in resident rooms on a voluntary basis, with all costs paid by the resident or representative.

• Requires written consent from roommates before installing monitoring devices in shared rooms, and allows roommates to revoke consent with 24 hours notice to turn off the device and 7 days to remove it.

• Prohibits audio recording by monitoring devices and requires notice posted on room doors; limits video access to authorized individuals only and restricts retention to 12 months unless used for legal proceedings or medical purposes.

• Requires nursing homes to establish written policies by June 1, 2020, covering request procedures, privacy protections, consent requirements, and room change requests; prohibits nursing homes from denying admission or removing residents based on monitoring device requests.

• Shields nursing homes from civil and criminal liability for unauthorized disclosure of recordings or privacy violations caused by residents or authorized individuals using the monitoring devices.