Concerning the regulation of law enforcement surveillance technologies to protect citizens.
SB 26-071, titled the “Surveillance Accountability and Freedom Ensured (SAFE) Act,” would create a new set of statewide rules governing how Colorado law enforcement agencies may use surveillance technologies. Beginning July 1, 2027, agencies could use surveillance tools only for lawful purposes directly tied to public safety or an active investigation. The bill specifically addresses speed cameras, automated license plate readers, red-light cameras, pole-mounted cameras, drones, and facial recognition systems, and it imposes special limits on facial recognition, requiring a warrant or exigent circumstances involving an imminent threat to public safety.
The bill also establishes detailed requirements for collecting, storing, sharing, retaining, and destroying surveillance data. Agencies would have to secure data through encryption or comparable protections, limit retention periods unless the data is tied to an active investigation, keep access logs, prohibit selling or monetizing surveillance data, and permanently destroy data when retention periods expire or the data is no longer needed. It also requires public privacy impact assessments and governing-body approval before purchasing, renewing, upgrading, or redeploying surveillance technology in new ways or locations.
If enacted, the bill would add Part 15 to article 31 of title 24 of the Colorado Revised Statutes and would regulate state and local law enforcement agencies’ use of surveillance technology. It would create new compliance duties for agencies, new transparency obligations to residents, annual public reporting requirements, and a two-year audit program run by the attorney general. The bill also authorizes civil enforcement by the attorney general or affected individuals, allows civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation, and makes unlawfully accessed surveillance data inadmissible in most proceedings.
The bill’s stated purpose and structure suggest a strong privacy- and civil-liberties-oriented approach, emphasizing public accountability, limits on warrantless surveillance, and protections against misuse of data. The available legislative context shows no recorded committee testimony or vote detail, but the bill was ultimately postponed indefinitely in the Senate Judiciary Committee, indicating that it did not advance and likely faced sufficient concern or lack of support to halt progress at that stage.
The main points of contention are likely to have centered on the scope of restrictions placed on law enforcement, especially the warrant requirement for facial recognition, the short retention periods for certain data, and the limits on sharing and monetizing surveillance information. Law enforcement agencies may view the bill as imposing significant operational and administrative burdens, particularly the privacy impact assessments, annual reporting, and attorney general audits. Supporters, by contrast, would likely emphasize the need to curb mass surveillance, prevent misuse of sensitive data, and protect residents’ privacy and constitutional rights.