2021-02-22                     Senate Journal                      Page 0295
SB 92                                                                                                                         
SENATE BILL NO. 92 BY THE SENATE RULES COMMITTEE                                                                                
BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR, entitled:                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
            "An Act relating to missing persons under 21 years of                                                              
          age."                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
was read the first time and referred to the Health and Social Services                                                          
and State Affairs Committees.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
The following fiscal information was published today:                                                                           
 Fiscal Note No. 1, zero, Department of Public Safety                                                                           
 Fiscal Note No. 2, zero, Department of Health and Social Services                                                              
                                                                                                                                

2021-02-22                     Senate Journal                      Page 0296
Governor's transmittal letter dated February 18:                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
Dear President Micciche:                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Under the authority of Article III, Section 18, of the Alaska                                                                   
Constitution, I am transmitting a bill updating the timeframes for                                                              
reporting missing persons under the age of 21 to state and national                                                             
databases.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
Recent changes in Federal law require all law enforcement agencies to                                                           
complete and transmit reports of missing persons under the age of 21                                                            
into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) no more than two                                                              
hours after a person has been reported missing. Time is of the essence                                                          
in cases involving this vulnerable population in order to marshal                                                               
quickly as many resources as possible to search for the missing person.                                                         
Current state law gives law enforcement 24 hours to enter a missing                                                             
person’s report into the Alaska Public Safety Information Network                                                               
(APSIN) and the NCIC, and only on persons under the age of 18. The                                                              
bill amends AS 18.65.620 and AS 47.10.141 to bring state law in line                                                            
with federal requirements, and to align with the current practice of                                                            
Alaska’s law enforcement agencies.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
Persons under the age of 21 who go missing are at an increased risk of                                                          
being harmed. It is crucial that reports are met with urgency. The bill                                                         
will bring Alaska into federal compliance and ensure that we are                                                                
leveraging state and national databases to bring these young people                                                             
home safely.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
I urge your prompt and favorable action on this measure.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Sincerely,                                                                                                                      
/s/                                                                                                                             
Mike Dunleavy                                                                                                                   
Governor