House Bill 2319, sponsored by state Rep. John Kavanagh, makes it illegal for anyone within 8 feet of law enforcement activity to record police. Violators could face a misdemeanor, but only after being verbally warned and continuing to record anyway.
Exceptions were made for people at the center of an interaction with police, anyone standing in an enclosed structure on private property where police activity was occurring and occupants of a vehicle stopped by police as long as recording in those instances didn’t interfere with police actions…
But many people, including First Amendment experts, continued to oppose the bill, stating it was unconstitutional at its core, lacked specificity and granted police too much discretion. Various news organizations, including Gannett, the company that owns The Arizona Republic and USA TODAY, also signed letters from the National Press Photographers Association opposing the bill.
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