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Committee extends time for law enforcement to process digital-search-warrant returns
Summary
SB 442 would lengthen the statutory window for returning digital-search-warrant results from 45 days to one year to give law enforcement time to extract encrypted or voluminous data; the bill drew support from state and local law enforcement and passed the committee unanimously.
The Judiciary Committee unanimously reported SB 442, a bill to extend the time law enforcement has to extract and return digital-search-warrant material from 45 days to one year. Sponsor Senator Yarbrough said modern devices, encryption and the volume of digital material make the current statutory period too short for thorough forensic review; law-enforcement witnesses supported the change.
Why it matters: Digital-search warrants increasingly return large, encrypted datasets from phones, ring cameras and external drives; agencies said additional time and resources are needed to ensure evidence is extracted without suppression while maintaining judicial oversight.
Support from law enforcement: Representatives of state and local sheriff’s offices and prosecutors waived in support, saying the extension will reduce the risk of losing usable evidence due to technical limits and vendor processing times.
Outcome: The committee voted 11-0 to report SB 442 favorably.
