74th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2007 Regular Session
 
NOTE:  Matter within  { +  braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within  { -  braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
 { +  braces and plus signs + } .
 
LC 2257
 
                        Senate Bill 1013
 
Sponsored by COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY (at the request of Eugene
  Police Department)
 
 
                             SUMMARY
 
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.
 
  Exempts law enforcement officers from crime of failing to
disclose to participants that conversation is being recorded
under certain circumstances.
 
                        A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to crime; amending ORS 165.540 and 165.542.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
  SECTION 1. ORS 165.540 is amended to read:
  165.540. (1) Except as otherwise provided in ORS 133.724 or
133.726 or subsections (2) to (7) of this section, a person may
not:
  (a) Obtain or attempt to obtain the whole or any part of a
telecommunication or a radio communication to which the person is
not a participant, by means of any device, contrivance, machine
or apparatus, whether electrical, mechanical, manual or
otherwise, unless consent is given by at least one participant.
  (b) Tamper with the wires, connections, boxes, fuses, circuits,
lines or any other equipment or facilities of a telecommunication
or radio communication company over which messages are
transmitted, with the intent to obtain unlawfully the contents of
a telecommunication or radio communication to which the person is
not a participant.
  (c) Obtain or attempt to obtain the whole or any part of a
conversation by means of any device, contrivance, machine or
apparatus, whether electrical, mechanical, manual or otherwise,
if not all participants in the conversation are specifically
informed that their conversation is being obtained.
  (d) Obtain the whole or any part of a conversation,
telecommunication or radio communication from any person, while
knowing or having good reason to believe that the conversation,
telecommunication or radio communication was initially obtained
in a manner prohibited by this section.
  (e) Use or attempt to use, or divulge to others, any
conversation, telecommunication or radio communication obtained
by any means prohibited by this section.
  (2)(a) The prohibitions in subsection (1)(a), (b) and (c) of
this section do not apply to:
  (A) Officers, employees or agents of a telecommunication or
radio communication company who perform the acts prohibited by
subsection (1)(a), (b) and (c) of this section for the purpose of
construction, maintenance or conducting of their
telecommunication or radio communication service, facilities or
equipment.
  (B) Public officials in charge of and at jails, police
premises, sheriffs' offices, Department of Corrections
institutions and other penal or correctional institutions, except
as to communications or conversations between an attorney and the
client of the attorney.
  (b) Officers, employees or agents of a telecommunication or
radio communication company who obtain information under
paragraph (a) of this subsection may not use or attempt to use,
or divulge to others, the information except for the purpose of
construction, maintenance, or conducting of their
telecommunication or radio communication service, facilities or
equipment.
  (3) The prohibitions in subsection (1)(a), (b) or (c) of this
section do not apply to subscribers or members of their family
who perform the acts prohibited in subsection (1) of this section
in their homes.
  (4) The prohibitions in subsection (1)(a) of this section do
not apply to the receiving or obtaining of the contents of any
radio or television broadcast transmitted for the use of the
general public.
  (5) The prohibitions in subsection (1)(c) of this section do
not apply to { + :
  (a) + } A person who records a conversation during a felony
that endangers human life  { - . - }  { + ; or
  (b) A law enforcement officer, as defined in ORS 133.726, who
is in uniform and who is making an audio or video recording using
an in-car video system while acting in the scope of the officer's
employment and as part of assigned duties. For purposes of this
paragraph, 'in-car video system' means any system that captures
audio and video signals and that is installed in a law
enforcement vehicle. + }
  (6) The prohibitions in subsection (1)(c) of this section do
not apply to persons who intercept or attempt to intercept with
an unconcealed recording device the oral communications that are
part of any of the following proceedings:
  (a) Public or semipublic meetings such as hearings before
governmental or quasi-governmental bodies, trials, press
conferences, public speeches, rallies and sporting or other
events;
  (b) Regularly scheduled classes or similar educational
activities in public or private institutions; or
  (c) Private meetings or conferences if all others involved knew
or reasonably should have known that the recording was being
made.
  (7) The prohibitions in subsection (1)(a), (c), (d) and (e) of
this section do not apply to any:
  (a) Radio communication that is transmitted by a station
operating on an authorized frequency within the amateur or
citizens bands; or
  (b) Person who intercepts a radio communication that is
transmitted by any governmental, law enforcement, civil defense
or public safety communications system, including police and
fire, readily accessible to the general public provided that the
interception is not for purposes of illegal activity.
  (8) Violation of subsection (1) or (2)(b) of this section is a
Class A misdemeanor.
  SECTION 2. ORS 165.542 is amended to read:
  165.542. (1) Within 30 days after the use of an electronic
listening device under ORS 133.726 (7) or 165.540
(5) { + (a) + }, the law enforcement agency using the device
shall report to the district attorney of the county in the
agency's jurisdiction:
 
  (a) The number of uses of the device and duration of the
interceptions made by the law enforcement agency;
  (b) The offense investigated;
  (c) The identity of the law enforcement agency intercepting the
communication; and
  (d) Whether the person wearing the device was a law enforcement
officer or a person under the supervision of the officer and the
number of persons in each category who wore the device.
  (2) During January of each year, the district attorney of a
county in which electronic listening devices were used under ORS
133.726 (7) or 165.540 (5) { + (a) + } shall report to the
Department of Justice:
  (a) The information required by subsection (1) of this section
with respect to the use of electronic listening devices during
the preceding calendar year; and
  (b) The aggregate number of instances in which electronic
listening devices have been used in the county under ORS 133.726
(7) or 165.540 (5) { + (a) + } during the preceding calendar
year.
  (3) The law enforcement agency shall include as part of the
case file any use of electronic listening devices under ORS
133.726 (7) or 165.540 (5) { + (a) + }.
  (4) During April of each odd-numbered calendar year, the
Department of Justice shall transmit to the Legislative Assembly
a report including a summary of the information required by
subsections (1) and (2) of this section.
  (5) Failure to comply with the reporting requirements of this
section shall not affect the admissibility of evidence.
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