SB 92-MISSING PERSONS UNDER 21 YEARS OLD  4:28:31 PM CHAIR SHOWER announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 92 "An Act relating to missing persons under 21 years of age." He listed the individuals who would testify on behalf of the administration and those available to answer questions. 4:29:05 PM KATHRYN MONFREDA, Director, Division of Statewide Services - CGIS Programs, Department of Public Safety, Anchorage, Alaska, explained that SB 92 aligns state law to the federal law regarding reporting missing persons between the ages of 18 and 21. 4:29:35 PM MS. MONFREDA began a PowerPoint presentation on slide 2. She related that the 2003 Suzanne's Law and part of the 2006 Adam Walsh Act collectively require law enforcement agencies to enter information related to persons under the age of 21 into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) data base within two hours of being reported missing. She advised that these laws were named after a university student who went missing in 1981 and was never found and a five-year-old boy who was abducted and murdered in 1981. MS. MONFREDA reviewed the current statutes that have not been updated since they were enacted in the mid-1980s. She paraphrased the following: • AS 18.65.620 requires reporting missing minors to the state's Missing Persons Clearinghouse if not located within 48 hours after first reported missing • AS 47.10.141 requires reporting missing minors into state and national databases no later than 24 hours after completing the missing person report • AS 47.10.390 defines 'runaway minor' as a person under 18 years of age 4:32:24 PM MS. MONFREDA reviewed the summary of statutory changes proposed in SB 92 to conform with federal law pertaining to missing persons under age 21. She paraphrased the following: • Changes required for AS 47.10.141 and AS 18.65.620 to comply with the two federal laws regarding • Entry into state and national databases for missing persons under age 21 instead of the state requirement of age 18 • Entry of the records into state and national databases within 2 hours instead of the state requirement of 24 hours MS. MONFREDA paraphrased the current procedures bulleted on slide 5. The slide read as follows: • Statewide training for law enforcement is already in place regarding the more restrictive federal requirements • Most state and local law enforcement agencies are already complying with the more restrictive federal requirements • Programming for the state database, Alaska Public Safety Information Network (APSIN), has already been completed to allow law enforcement to enter reports to comply with the more restrictive federal requirements MS. MONFREDA paraphrased the benefits of the proposed statutory changes bulleted on slide 6. The slide read as follows: • Remove conflicting, less restrictive state statutory requirements • Faster state and nationwide notification of missing person records for those under age 21 • The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children monitors national databases and proactively offers assistance • Improved response for the vulnerable, college-age population of missing persons SENATOR KAWASAKI said he appreciates that college age persons are particularly vulnerable, but he wonders why the bill does not ensure that missing persons who are older than age 21 and have a mental illness or dementia are placed on the database. MS. MONFREDA replied that the practice is to enter missing persons into the system regardless of age, but federal law requires missing persons age 21 and younger to be entered. CHAIR SHOWER asked Ms. Monfreda if she agreed that the committee could amend the bill to include other missing persons as a state requirement. MS. MONFREDA replied that is correct. CHAIR SHOWER suggested Senator Kawasaki look at amending the bill to expand the coverage under state law. 4:35:25 PM MS. MONFREDA paraphrased the following sectional analysis for SB 92: Section 1: Includes conforming language related to the duty of law enforcement agencies to reflect changes made in Section 2. Section 2: Adds a new subsection to AS 18.65.620, requiring law enforcement agencies to transmit a missing person's report for a person under the age of 21 to the Alaska Public Safety Information Network and the National Crime Information Center as soon as practicable, but not later than two hours after completing the report. If the person is later found, the agency shall remove that information from those databases as soon as practicable, but not later than 24 hours after learning the person has been located. Section 3: Contains conforming language to AS 47.10.141, runaway and missing children, to the changes made in section 2. All reporting procedures for persons under the age of 21 are moved to AS 18.65, as amended in Section 2 of the bill. The bill has no specific effective date and would become effective 90 days after becoming law. CHAIR SHOWER again asked for confirmation that if the committee were to amend the bill to require all missing persons to be entered into the database, the state would still be perceived as following federal law. MS. MONFREDA confirmed that state law can always be more restrictive than federal law, but not less restrictive. SENATOR KAWASAKI asked to hear from law enforcement about the feasibility of small municipalities being able to comply with the two-hour federal reporting requirement if the bill were expanded to include all missing persons. 4:38:08 PM PAUL FUSSEY, Lieutenant, Alaska State Troopers, Department of Public Safety, Anchorage, Alaska, stated that it does not take very long to enter information into either the NCIC or APSIN databases and a dispatcher could be entering the information as an officer is out looking for the missing person. SENATOR COSTELLO asked what happens to the information that was entered into the system after the missing person is found safe. MS. MONFREDA replied that the information is deleted from the system after the person is located, but it remains in the log. 4:39:50 PM CHAIR SHOWER opened public testimony on SB 92; finding none, he closed public testimony. 4:40:21 PM CHAIR SHOWER held SB 92 in committee for future consideration.