SB 82 (Forcible Entry Amendments)

Libertas Institute supports this bill.

Last year, Libertas Institute provided model legislation to restrict the authority of police officers to forcibly enter a home. Following negotiations and some compromises, the bill passed. This bill proposes additional restrictions, such as elevating the legal standard required to forcibly enter a home, prohibiting it from being done merely to prevent the destruction of evidence, requiring body cameras and uniforms, and imposing a penalty to the government for violating the law.

Libertas Institute supports this bill. The authority claimed by the state to introduce violence into a person's sanctuary in order to enforce a law the person is suspected of violating should be appropriately restricted so as to protect the person's life and property. This bill is a great step in that direction.