Substitute Senate Bill 58 - Esther's Law Summary

• Permits long-term care facility residents, guardians, or attorneys-in-fact to install electronic monitoring devices (video camera, audio recorder, or combination) in their rooms for surveillance purposes.

• Requires residents or their representatives to pay all costs associated with the device, installation, maintenance, and removal, excluding electricity costs.

• If a resident shares a room, the roommate or their guardian/attorney-in-fact must consent to the device installation; facilities must make reasonable efforts to move one resident to another available room if consent is refused.

• Restricts viewing or listening to recordings to the resident, their guardian/attorney-in-fact, law enforcement, or any person authorized by the resident; protects facilities from liability for privacy violations related to authorized device use.

• Makes it a first-degree misdemeanor to intentionally obstruct, tamper with, or destroy an authorized monitoring device, and prohibits facilities from denying admission, discharging, or discriminating against residents based on their decision to use monitoring devices.