SB 179 - MISSING VULNERABLE ADULT RESPONSE PLAN 1:11:26 PM VICE CHAIR THOMPSON announced that the first order of business would be SENATE BILL NO. 179, "An Act relating to missing vulnerable adult prompt response and notification plans." [Before the committee was HCS SB 179(STA).] 1:12:09 PM CELESTE HODGE, Staff, Senator Bettye Davis, Alaska State Legislature, on behalf of the sponsor, Senator Davis, explained that SB 179 would create a new, statewide alert system for vulnerable adults who go missing. Under this proposed system - similar to the nationwide America's Missing: Broadcasting Emergency Response (AMBER) Alert system for missing children - local law enforcement agencies would notify the public when a mentally or physically impaired adult goes missing. Alaska has the fastest growing senior population in the nation, and, according to the Alaska Commission on Aging (ACoA), in 2010 there were approximately 7,785 Alaskans suffering from Alzheimer's disease and dementia - with that number expected to grow to more than 17,000 by the year 2030 - and when such people go missing, their best chance of surviving depends upon being found within 48 hours. In Fairbanks last winter, a 63-year-old woman suffering from Alzheimer's disease froze to death; she'd been driving, became disorientated, drove until she ran out of gas, and then tried walking to get help. It's incidents such as this, she relayed, which illustrate the need for an alert system focused on finding missing vulnerable adults. MS. HODGE explained that under SB 179, the Department of Military & Veterans' Affairs (DMVA) would coordinate with the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to create and implement prompt response and notification plans that would use a voluntary network of statewide and local newspapers, as well as radio and television stations, to rapidly alert the public that a vulnerable adult is missing; also, standards would be established with regard to what shall trigger an alert, and with regard to when a vulnerable adult shall officially be considered missing. The bill would ensure that the search for Alaska's most vulnerable citizens occurs promptly, and current law defines a vulnerable adult as, "a person 18 years of age or older who, because of physical or mental impairment, is unable to meet the person's own needs or to seek help without assistance". Currently, 28 states either already have implemented or will implement such a system. In conclusion, she relayed that the administration supports SB 179, and that no fiscal impact is anticipated. 1:15:08 PM PATRICK M. CUNNINGHAM, D.S.W., Associate Professor, School of Social Work, College of Health and Social Welfare, University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA); Member, Board of Directors, Alzheimer's Disease Resource Agency of Alaska, Inc., explained that there is a tendency for a person who suffers from Alzheimer's disease, or other form of cognitive dysfunction, to wander away from home and therefore be at risk of suffering harm; an alert system such as the one that would be developed under SB 179 would increase the chances of finding such a person before harm occurs to him/her. In conclusion, Dr. Cunningham urged support for SB 179, which he characterized as important legislation. MS. HODGE, in response to a question, explained that the difference between SB 179 and HCS SB 179(STA) is that the words, ", or an officer or employee of the law enforcement agency," were added to the bill's proposed new AS 44.41.060(b)(1), which provides an exemption from liability for law enforcement agencies. This change was intended to encourage more participation by law enforcement agencies. 1:17:07 PM RODNEY DIAL, Lieutenant, Deputy Commander, A Detachment, Division of Alaska State Troopers, Department of Public Safety (DPS), relayed simply that the DPS is neutral on SB 179. VICE CHAIR THOMPSON, after ascertaining that no one else wished to testify, closed public testimony on SB 179. 1:17:52 PM REPRESENTATIVE HAWKER moved to report HCS SB 179(STA) out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying zero fiscal [notes]. There being no objection, HCS SB 179(STA) was reported from the House Judiciary Standing Committee.