House and Senate consider differing facial recognition bills

Competing bills in the House and Senate take different approaches to regulate facial recognition technology used by law enforcement agencies.

HB 2761, sponsored by Rep. Zack Hudgins (D–Tukwila), would leave approval and regulation of using facial recognition by law enforcement at the local level. Law enforcement would need to receive explicit permission from their city council before implementing the technology. The city council would be required to:

• Seek public input on the use of facial recognition within the community;
• Provide notice to the community that facial recognition will be used within the community;
• Explicitly state to law enforcement and the public how the technology will be used;
• Establish a process for reviewing law enforcement’s compliance with the established local rules.

Under HB 2761, law enforcement would not report usage of facial recognition technology to the state.

In a previous Bulletin article, we wrote about SB 6280, sponsored by Sen. Joe Nguyen (D–West Seattle). This bill would require extensive reporting and public hearings if a law enforcement agency chose to use facial recognition technology. The legislation also specifies requirements, including:

• Public notification;
• Testing prior to deployment;
• Independent testing for accuracy across distinct subpopulations;
• Periodic operator training.