02/20/2008 09:00 AM Senate FINANCE

SENATE BILL NO. 247                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
     "An  Act relating  to missing  persons and  unidentified                                                                   
     human remains."                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
DARWIN PETERSON,  STAFF, SENATOR STEDMAN introduced  the bill                                                                   
that  he helped  to  draft when  he was  a  staff member  for                                                                   
Senator Green.  He read  a section  of the sponsor  statement                                                                   
that says:                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     Specifically, SB 247:                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     Prohibits  the disposal  of  unidentified human  remains                                                                   
     unless DNA samples are archived.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
     Prohibits  a law  enforcement  agency  from refusing  to                                                                   
     accept a missing persons report.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
     Provides a  detailed list of specific information  to be                                                                   
     gathered  and  recorded   by  law  enforcement  about  a                                                                   
     missing person.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     Allows law  enforcement to obtain a DNA  sample from the                                                                   
     family  of a  missing person  who has  been missing  for                                                                   
     more than  30 days and forward  that DNS to  an approved                                                                   
     facility  for  analysis  and  dissemination  to  missing                                                                   
     persons databases.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
     Requires all  missing person reports to  be entered into                                                                   
     a  National  Crime  Information  center  (NCIC)  Missing                                                                   
     Person  File,  the  Unidentified person  File,  and  the                                                                   
     state crime information system.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     Provides  a mechanism for  law enforcement  to determine                                                                   
     if a  missing person  is deemed "high  risk" and  if so,                                                                   
     take immediate action.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     Improves procedures for handling human remains and                                                                         
     communicating with the family of a missing person.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
He expounded  that if  there was  an increase in  cooperation                                                                   
among law  enforcement agencies  to locate and  safely return                                                                   
missing persons then this is a worthwhile effort.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
10:42:32 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Senator Elton  questioned if this  falls under  the "refusing                                                                   
to accept" provision of a missing  persons report. In reading                                                                   
page 2,  Section 3, line 6,  "Each law enforcement  agency in                                                                   
the state with  reason to believe a missing person  is in the                                                                   
jurisdiction served by the agency  shall accept a report of a                                                                   
missing.." Senator  Elton assumed that  a family member  of a                                                                   
missing person  who happens  to live in  New York  City could                                                                   
call a law enforcement person  in the State of Alaska if they                                                                   
believed that person was heading to Alaska.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
10:43:58 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Mr. Peterson  responded  that Senator  Elton was accurate.  A                                                                   
person does  not have to  be an Alaska  resident to  call law                                                                   
enforcement for this kind of help.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
Senator Elton  wondered if a  high risk missing  person, like                                                                   
an Alzheimer's  patient,  wandered from  nursing home,  would                                                                   
this prompt  the same  law enforcement procedures  regardless                                                                   
of how long the person had been  missing. Mr. Peterson agreed                                                                   
that law enforcement would have  to initiate a missing person                                                                   
investigation.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
10:45:31 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Senator Elton  remarked that earlier  in the bill  it states,                                                                   
"regardless of  the period of  time a person is  missing" and                                                                   
wondered if  this could spike  a significant effort  and work                                                                   
load  to the  law  enforcement  community. He  questioned  if                                                                   
there  was  anything in  the  bill  that would  preclude  law                                                                   
enforcement from  having to act.  Mr. Peterson  believed that                                                                   
the  reading  of the  legislation  allows  anyone to  file  a                                                                   
missing  persons   report  even  if  other   law  enforcement                                                                   
agencies are actively looking for that person.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
10:47:23 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Stedman  referenced  the three  fiscal  notes.  Mr.                                                                   
Peterson  commented   on  the  fiscal  note's   requests  and                                                                   
believed, since the work load  would increase, there would be                                                                   
a need for an  extra law enforcement individual.  In the last                                                                   
section  of  the bill,  it  was  inserted  that there  be  no                                                                   
retroactivity  in  the  bill. Mr.  Peterson  confirmed  there                                                                   
would not  be any additional work  going back to  "cold case"                                                                   
missing persons.  Fiscal notes could go down  or disappear if                                                                   
Department  of Public  Safety concern  about the  "mandatory"                                                                   
language was changed to "permissive."                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
10:49:59 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MARY  WEIR, MATSU,  MOTHER, testified  via teleconference  in                                                                   
support of  SB 247. Her daughter  disappeared in 2005  and it                                                                   
was   nineteen  months   before  her   daughter's  body   was                                                                   
identified.  She contended  that  if this  bill  had been  in                                                                   
place, the  action to  find her  missing daughter would  have                                                                   
been  immediate. She  insisted  that it  is really  important                                                                   
legislation  with many systems  already in  place to  act and                                                                   
noted  that  there   is  also  federal  funding   and  grants                                                                   
available.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
10:52:23 AM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
SB  247  was   HEARD  and  HELD  in  Committee   for  further                                                                   
consideration.