SB 1009 — AN ACT REQUIRING SOCIAL MEDIA POLICIES FOR POLICE DEPARTMENTS.

Senate General Assembly RaisedFile Bill No.

1009294 January Session, 2021 LCOSubstitute Senate Bill No.

44101009 ReferredSenate, toApril 6, 2021 The Committee on PUBLICPublic SAFETYSafety ANDand SECURITYSecurity Introducedreported by:through SEN.

(PS)BRADLEY ANof ACTthe REQUIRING23rd SOCIALDist., MEDIAChairperson POLICIESof FORthe POLICECommittee DEPARTMENTS.on the part of the Senate, that the substitute bill ought to pass.

AN ACT REQUIRING SOCIAL MEDIA POLICIES FOR POLICE DEPARTMENTS.

(NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) NotAs used in this section, "social media" has the same meaning as provided in section 9-601 of the generalstatutesand"lawenforcement unit"and"police officer"have the same meaningsasprovidedinsection7-294aofthegeneralstatutes.Not later than January 1, 2022, the Police Officer Standards and Training Council shall develop a model policy concerning the use of social media,media as defined in section 9- 601 of the general statutes, by law enforcement units and police officers,officers as such terms are defined in section 7-294a of the general statutes, while on duty.

Such model policy shall include, but need not be limited to, (1) guidelines regarding the use of a social media account used by a law enforcement unit, (2) the responsibilities of any person employed by the law enforcement unit who manages and approves content to post on such social media account, (3) procedures when the unauthorized use of such social media account is detected, (4) guidelines to ensure compliance with any applicable state or federal law, (5) guidelines regarding content suitable andsSB1009 not/ suitableFile forNo. posting on such social media account, (6) methods to limit indecent or obscene content on any such social media account, and (7) a prohibition on the personal use of social media by a police officer while on duty.

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4410294 1and ofnot 2suitable (b)for Notposting lateron thansuch Julysocial 1,media 2022,account, each law enforcement unit shall adopt and maintain(6) amethods writtento policylimit thatindecent meets or exceedsobscene thecontent standardson ofany thesuch modelsocial policymedia developedaccount. pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.

(b) Not later than July 1, 2022, each law enforcement unit shall adopt and maintain a written policy that meets or exceeds the standards of the model policy developed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.

Section 1 from passage New section Statement of Purpose:Legislative Commissioners:

ToIn requiresubsection (a), the Policefirst Officersentence Standardswas andadded Training Council to develop a modelsocialmedia policy for policeclarity. departmentsand to require police departments to adopt such model policy or a policy with higher standards.

thatPS whenJoint theFavorable entireSubst. text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.] LCO No.

4410sSB1009 2/ ofFile 2No.

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294 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.

In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.

Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:

None Municipal Impact:

None Explanation The bill requires the Police Officer Standards and Training Council (POST) to develop a model social media policy resulting in no fiscal impact because POST has the expertise to meet the requirements of the bill.

The Out Years State Impact:

None Municipal Impact:

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294 OLR Bill Analysis sSB 1009 AN ACT REQUIRING SOCIAL MEDIA POLICIES FOR POLICE DEPARTMENTS.

SUMMARY This bill requires the Police Officer Standards and Training Council to develop, by January 1, 2022, a model policy on the use of social media by law enforcement units and police officers while they are on duty.

The policy must include:

1.

guidelines on using a unit’s social media account, 2.

the responsibilities of any unit employee who manages and approves content to post on a unit’s account, 3.

procedures when the unauthorized use of a unit’s account is detected, 4.

guidelines to ensure compliance with applicable state or federal law, 5.

guidelines on what is and is not suitable for posting on a unit’s account, and 6.

methods to limit indecent or obscene content on a unit’s account.

By July 1, 2022, the bill requires each law enforcement unit to adopt and maintain a written policy that meets or exceeds the model policy’s standards.

By law and under the bill, “social media” is an electronic medium where users may create and view user-generated content, such as uploaded or downloaded videos or photographs, blogs, video blogs, podcasts, or instant messages (CGS § 9-601).

Additionally, “law sSB1009 / File No.

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294 enforcement unit” is any state or municipal agency or department (or tribal agency or department created and governed under a memorandum of agreement) whose primary functions include enforcing criminal or traffic laws;