Senate Bill 1976, also known as House Bill 2436, amends the Tennessee Code Annotated to establish regulations regarding the use of body cameras by law enforcement officers. The bill mandates that law enforcement agencies adopt written policies for body camera usage, which must include guidelines on when officers are required to activate and deactivate their cameras, as well as protocols for notifying individuals that they are being recorded. The legislation specifies that body cameras should be worn in a manner that maximizes their effectiveness and outlines exceptions for when officers must discontinue use, such as when interacting with crime victims or individuals seeking to report crimes anonymously.

Additionally, the bill sets forth requirements for the retention of body camera recordings, stipulating that recordings must generally be kept for six months but extended to thirteen months in certain circumstances, such as use of force incidents or when a complaint is filed. It also establishes that body camera recordings are part of the public record, with specific exceptions for privacy and legal reasons. Violations of the body camera policies can lead to disciplinary actions against officers, and the bill creates rebuttable presumptions in favor of defendants in criminal cases and plaintiffs in civil suits if evidence is destroyed or not captured due to non-compliance with the law. The act takes effect upon becoming law and applies to recordings made thereafter.