The top lawyer of Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft Corp. applauded the Washington state legislature for passing and signing into law a comprehensive bill on facial recognition technology, saying it safeguards private citizens’ rights and encourages the elimination of bias in the technology.

Senate Bill 6280, signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee on Tuesday, will go into effect July 1, 2021. The law will require state and local government agencies who wish to use facial recognition technology to prepare an accountability report before implementing the technology. Along with the name of the technology vendor, the report will have to include a description of what the technology will be used for and the data inputs the technology uses. Vendors who wish to work with state and local government agencies must disclose any complaints they have received.