Bill > HB1547

This bill requires state and local criminal justice agencies, which include courts and agencies involved in crime detection, prosecution, corrections, and record-keeping, to share all criminal justice data and records with a "bona fide researcher." A bona fide researcher is defined as an individual or organization that agrees to use the data solely for research and statistical purposes, will not identify individuals in any reports, has received approval for their research project from an institutional review board (a committee that reviews and approves research projects), and has security measures in place to protect confidential data if requested. The data that must be shared includes personally identifying and demographic information related to law enforcement stops, searches, seizures, arrests, citations, diversion programs, criminal charges, dispositions, sentences, release from custody, probation, parole, and disciplinary actions within the correctional system, as well as any information that is already publicly disclosable. Criminal justice agencies can also choose to share other responsive data. The bill also mandates that by January 1, 2027, the attorney general and reporter will provide guidance on how agencies can comply, and agencies may charge reasonable fees for data retrieval, though they can waive these fees.