The bill would exclude undercover officers and those working in police stations, Nasheed told the Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee.

Police departments would have to store footage for at least two years, and after an open records request is filed, the recordings would be available in the same way police incident reports are.

Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, D-University City, said she wanted to make sure video of domestic disputes, incidents involving children or blanket video of protests isn’t available under the state’s Sunshine Law. Nasheed said she’d be open to discussing restrictions on when and how video is released.

The bill would cost an estimated $5.7 million to implement during the its first year. Nasheed said that to avoid an unfunded mandate to cities, the bill would be enforced if the Legislature appropriated the funds. She said the state could also apply for federal money.

“Make no mistake about it, the implementation of body cameras will cost money, but this cost is little compared to the cost of lawsuits that will be placed throughout those cities,” Nasheed told the committee, referring to lawsuits filed against police departments in use-of-force cases.