Ind. Bill to Limit Electronic Surveillance by Police

Indiana's Gov. Mike Pence signed a bill Wednesday that is intended to restrict the use of electronic monitoring devices by law enforcement officials, reports the Indy Star .

The new law, which goes into effect July 1, comes amid heightened privacy concerns over the role of government surveillance programs, including the National Security Agency's collection of email and phone records.

In Indiana, much of the debate has revolved around a suitcase-sized monitoring device known as a Stingray, which masquerades as a cell phone tower and can scoop up call and location data from hundreds of nearby cell phones in real-time.

House Bill 1009, authored by Rep. Eric Koch, requires law enforcement officials to establish probable cause and obtain a court order before electronically tracking the location of mobile phones or other cellular devices in real time.