SB 151: "An Act establishing the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Review Commission; relating to missing and murdered indigenous persons; relating to the duties of the Department of Public Safety; and providing for an effective date."
00 SENATE BILL NO. 151 01 "An Act establishing the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Review 02 Commission; relating to missing and murdered indigenous persons; relating to the 03 duties of the Department of Public Safety; and providing for an effective date." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 44.41 is amended by adding a new section to read: 06 Sec. 44.41.023. Investigators for missing and murdered indigenous 07 persons. The Department of Public Safety shall employ at least two persons in the 08 department to investigate cases involving missing and murdered indigenous persons 09 and act as liaisons between law enforcement agencies, communities in the state, and 10 federally recognized tribes. 11 * Sec. 2. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 12 read: 13 MISSING AND MURDERED INDIGENOUS PERSONS REVIEW COMMISSION. 14 (a) The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Review Commission is established in the
01 Department of Public Safety. 02 (b) The commission consists of nine members, including 03 (1) the commissioner of public safety, or the commissioner's designee; 04 (2) the commissioner of family and community services, or the 05 commissioner's designee; 06 (3) one member from a municipal police department, appointed by the 07 governor; 08 (4) one member who is a village public safety officer, village public officer, or 09 tribal police officer, appointed by the governor; 10 (5) one member from a victim advocacy organization or similar service 11 provider, appointed by the governor; 12 (6) one member from an Alaska Native tribal organization or entity, appointed 13 by the governor; 14 (7) two members from the legislature, serving as ex officio nonvoting 15 members, one of whom shall be appointed by the president of the senate and one of whom 16 shall be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; and 17 (8) one member who is a prosecutor with prosecutorial experience in homicide 18 cases, appointed by the attorney general. 19 (c) Vacancies on the commission shall be filled in the same manner as original 20 appointment. 21 (d) The commissioner of public safety or the commissioner's designee is the chair of 22 the commission. 23 (e) Members of the commission receive no compensation but are entitled to per diem 24 and travel expenses authorized for boards and commissions under AS 39.20.180. 25 (f) The commission shall review unresolved cases involving missing and murdered 26 indigenous persons from different state regions that are identified by the Department of Public 27 Safety to 28 (1) examine the trends and patterns related to missing and murdered 29 indigenous persons; and 30 (2) make policy, practice, and service recommendations to encourage 31 collaboration and reduce cases involving indigenous persons.
01 (g) The commission shall prepare a report of its findings and recommendations. Not 02 later than January 1, 2026, the commission shall submit the report to the senate secretary and 03 chief clerk of the house of representatives and notify the legislature that the report is 04 available. The commission shall make the report publicly available through the Department of 05 Public Safety. 06 (h) A person attending a meeting of the commission or a member or staff of the 07 commission may not disclose information obtained during the review of a case by the 08 commission. 09 (i) Documents, materials, and reports obtained or compiled by the commission or a 10 designated representative of the commission in the course of reviewing a case involving a 11 missing or murdered indigenous person under this section are confidential and are not public 12 records under AS 40.25.110 - 40.25.125 or admissible in a criminal or civil proceeding. A 13 person may not be compelled to disclose information relating to the documents, materials, and 14 reports through subpoena, discovery, or testimony in a criminal or civil proceeding. 15 (j) A member of the commission who knowingly uses documents, materials, reports, 16 or information for a purpose not authorized under (f) or (g) of this section or discloses 17 information in violation of this section is subject to a civil penalty of not more than $500 for 18 each instance of unauthorized use or disclosure. 19 (k) Meetings of the commission are closed to the public and not subject to the 20 provisions of AS 44.62.310 - 44.62.319 (Open Meetings Act). Meetings shall take place not 21 less than four times each calendar year, at least one of which shall take place in person. 22 (l) The Department of Public Safety shall confer with the commission to establish 23 standardized methods for investigating missing person reports, including for investigating 24 missing persons reports and data collection for cases involving missing indigenous persons. 25 (m) In this section, "commission" means the Missing and Murdered Indigenous 26 Persons Review Commission. 27 * Sec. 3. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 28 read: 29 REPORT ON INVESTIGATIVE RESOURCES. The Department of Public Safety 30 shall conduct a needs assessment to determine how to increase protective and investigative 31 resources for identifying and reporting cases of missing and murdered indigenous persons
01 within the state criminal justice system. The department shall work with the governor's office 02 to convene meetings with tribal and local law enforcement agencies, federally recognized 03 tribes, and Alaska Native organizations to determine the scope of the issue, identify barriers, 04 and determine methods for creating partnerships to increase reporting and investigation of 05 cases involving missing and murdered indigenous persons. The department shall conduct its 06 work with tribal entities based on the state's government-to-government relationship with 07 federally recognized tribes in the state. The department shall also work with federal law 08 enforcement agencies to identify ways to increase information sharing and coordinate 09 resources. Not later than January 1, 2025, the department shall submit a written report on the 10 needs assessment to the senate secretary and chief clerk of the house of representatives and 11 notify the legislature that the report is available. 12 * Sec. 4. Section 3 of this Act is repealed January 1, 2025. 13 * Sec. 5. Section 2 of this Act is repealed January 1, 2026. 14 * Sec. 6. This Act takes effect January 1, 2024.