Restricts access to records showing deceased minors and child abuse

Government agencies and other people would generally be barred from disclosing covered records. The rules cover images, recordings, emergency calls, and other records showing a deceased minor or describing alleged child abuse. Parents, estates, investigators, courts, child welfare agencies, and certain other listed people may receive records in specified situations. A court may allow disclosure for good cause after considering privacy, safety, official conduct, and possible emotional harm. Written reports and summaries without the protected images or recordings remain outside these restrictions. The act states that these provisions operate immediately after approval on June 22, 2026.

People who knowingly release protected records to unauthorized recipients would face criminal, civil, or workplace consequences. The consequences apply to unauthorized releases of deceased-minor records, death-scene images, and child-abuse records covered by the act. A knowing violation is a class 1 misdemeanor for covered deceased-minor records. A parent, guardian, or estate may seek actual damages, statutory damages of $5,000 to $50,000 per violation, legal fees, and an order stopping further disclosure. Government attorneys may sue, seek removal or destruction of records, stop further distribution, and investigate alleged violations. The enforcement provisions apply when a person knowingly violates the covered disclosure rules after the act becomes operative.

A person would be prohibited from selling, licensing, distributing for payment, or using a covered death-scene image to make money. The ban covers death-scene images of a deceased minor obtained under the article. The ban does not apply when the image is used in a criminal prosecution or official investigation, held by the parent, guardian, or estate, or disclosed under a court order for good cause unless the court forbids it. A violation carries a $100,000 civil penalty for each violation. The ban applies when a person obtains and uses a covered death-scene image after the act becomes operative.