State Laws on Surveillance

Electronic Surveillance Laws

state laws || 2004 enactments || 2005 enactments || pending state legislation || warrant procedures
federal laws || contacts

Electronic surveillance is also examined in a brief that is part of NCSL's series, "States Respond to Terrorism," which surveys states' efforts to protect democracy from future terrorist attacks.

Electronic Surveillance involves the traditional laws on wiretapping--any interception of a telephone transmission by accessing the telephone signal itself--and eavesdropping--listening in on conversations without the consent of the parties.

Following the tragedies of September 11, there is growing support to give law enforcement agencies more power to tap into private communications to thwart further acts of terrorism by monitoring private electronic communications. State and federal policymakers face the challenge of balancing security needs via electronic surveillance against the potential erosion of individual privacy.

State Laws: Chart

* jump to 2001 enactments || 2002 enactments || pending state legislation || warrant procedures || federal laws || contacts

State	Cite	Includes Photo/Video	Includes Cellphones	Specically mentions "electronic" or "computer"?	Notes	Party Consent
Alabama	Ala. Code §13A-11-30	yes - Ala. Code § 13A-11-32				1
Alaska	§42.20.310	yes, if contain nudity - Alaska Stat. § 11.61.123.	yes	yes		1
Arizona	Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. §13-3005		yes	yes		1
Arkansas	Ark. Code §5-60-120 Ark. Code §5-16-101	yes - Ark. Code §5-16-101	yes	yes		1
California	Cal. Penal Code §631, 632	yes - Cal. Penal Code §647	yes	yes	one party may tap phone if related to serious crime; includes pagers	all
Colorado	Colo Rev. Stat. §18-9-303		yes	yes		1
Connecticut	Conn. Gen. Stat. §52-570d:	yes - §31-48b(b)	yes	yes	law enforcement must get approval by panel of judges for taps	all
Delaware	Del. Code Ann. tit. 11, §2402(c)(4)	yes - Del. Code Ann. tit. 11, § 1335(2), (6)		"trespass by other means of communicating privately"	under invasion of privacy law	all
DC	D.C. Code Ann. §23-542				tapes kept until ordered to be destroyed by judge	1
Florida	Fla. Stat. ch. 934.03		yes	yes	business recordings do not violate law	all
Georgia	Ga. Code Ann. §16-11-62	yes	yes	yes	phone companies must keep public list of all subscribers using monitoring equipment	1
Hawaii	Haw. Rev. Stat. §803-42		yes	yes		all
Idaho	Idaho Code §18-6702			yes		1
Illinois	720 ILCS 5/.	yes - 720 Ill. Compiled Stat. Ann. 5/26-4(a)		yes	business may monitor employees at work	all
Indiana	Ind. Code Ann. §35-33.5-1-5			yes		1
Iowa	Iowa Code §727.8			"communication of any kind,"		1
Kansas	Kan. Stat. Ann. §21-4001	yes				1
Kentcky	Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. §526.010		yes - Ky. Att'y Gen. Op. 84-310		Divulging information obtained through illegal eavesdropping is a separate crime classified as a misdemeanor	1
Louisiana	La. Rev. Stat. §15:1303	yes - La. Rev. Stat. § 14:283		yes	telephone companies may intercept lewd calls	all
Maine