Pen registers and trap and trace devices

What it would have done

Summary by the Legislative Reference Bureau, the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.

This bill expands the definition of “pen register” and “trap and trace device.” Under current law, a “pen register” is defined as a device that records or decodes electronic or other impulses that identify the numbers dialed or transmitted on a telephone line. Current law defines a “trap and trace device” as a device that captures the incoming electronic or other impulses that identify the originating number of an instrument or device from which a wire or electronic communication was transmitted. Current law provides that the attorney general or a district attorney may apply for a court order to install a pen register or a trap and trace device for the purpose of furthering a criminal investigation.

This bill expands the definition of “pen register” to include a device or process that records or decodes dialing, routing, addressing, or signaling information transmitted on a telephone line or by an instrument or facility from which a wire or electronic communication is transmitted. This bill expands the definition of “trap and trace device” to include a device or process that identifies the originating number or other dialing, routing, addressing, and signaling information of an instrument or facility from which a wire or electronic communication was transmitted.

Who's behind it

André Jacque, a Republican, is its author⁠.

6 more lawmakers signed on in support⁠.