DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A fast-moving Iowa bill would eliminate the public’s right to access 911 calls involving emergencies in which people are injured, sealing key information about public safety.
The House has approved the measure and a Senate committee will discuss it Thursday.
The bill declares that 911 calls involving injured victims are medical records and exempt from Iowa’s open records law. That means authorities’ initial response to shootings, stabbings and many other incidents would face less scrutiny.
Calls involving juveniles would all be confidential.
GOP Rep. Dean Fisher says the legislation comes in response to the release of 911 calls to The Associated Press last year that exposed a string of gun accidents in Tama County that killed two teens and injured a third.
Fisher says medical privacy outweighs the public’s right-to-know.