Senate Bill sb2864c1
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Florida Senate - 2007 CS for SB 2864
By the Committee on Criminal Justice; and Senator Constantine
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1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to missing persons; amending s.
3 937.021, F.S.; requiring law enforcement
4 agencies to process reports of missing persons
5 under the age of 26 in a manner similar to that
6 of missing child reports; providing immunity
7 from civil liability for certain persons
8 involving such reports; requiring that certain
9 acts be undertaken by a law enforcement agency
10 after such persons have been missing more than
11 90 days; amending s. 937.022, F.S.; requiring
12 the Missing Children Information Clearinghouse
13 to collect and process information regarding
14 missing persons under the age of 26; providing
15 a definition; requiring the Department of Law
16 Enforcement to create within the Missing
17 Children Information Clearinghouse a database
18 of unidentified deceased persons; providing an
19 effective date.
20
21 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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23 Section 1. Section 937.021, Florida Statutes, is
24 amended to read:
25 937.021 Missing child reports.--
26 (1) Upon the filing of a police report that a child is
27 missing by the parent or guardian, the law enforcement agency
28 receiving the report shall immediately inform all on-duty law
29 enforcement officers of the existence of the missing child
30 report, communicate the report to every other law enforcement
31 agency having jurisdiction in the county, and transmit the
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Florida Senate - 2007 CS for SB 2864
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1 report for inclusion within the Florida Crime Information
2 Center computer within 2 hours.
3 (2) Upon filing a police report that a person under
4 the age of 26 is missing by the parent, guardian, legal
5 custodian, spouse, significant other, or consanguineous
6 relation, the law enforcement agency receiving the report
7 shall transmit the report for entry into the Florida and
8 National Crime Information Center computers within 2 hours
9 after the agency receives the missing person information.
10 (3)(2) A police report that a child or person under
11 the age of 26 is missing shall may be filed with the law
12 enforcement agency having jurisdiction in the county or
13 municipality in which the child or person was last seen prior
14 to the filing of the report, without regard to whether the
15 child or person resides in or has any significant contacts
16 with that county or municipality. The filing of such a report
17 shall impose the duties specified in subsections subsection
18 (1) and (2) upon that law enforcement agency.
19 (4)(3)(a) Upon receiving a request to record, report,
20 transmit, display, or release Amber Alert or Missing Child
21 Alert information from the law enforcement agency having
22 jurisdiction over the missing or endangered child, the
23 Department of Law Enforcement as the state Amber Alert
24 coordinator; any state or local law enforcement agency and the
25 personnel of these agencies; any radio or television network,
26 broadcaster, or other media representative; any dealer of
27 communications services as defined in s. 202.11; or any
28 agency, employee, individual, or entity is immune from civil
29 liability for damages for complying in good faith with the
30 request and is presumed to have acted in good faith in
31 recording, reporting, transmitting, displaying, or releasing
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Florida Senate - 2007 CS for SB 2864
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1 Amber Alert or Missing Child Alert information pertaining to
2 such child.
3 (b) Upon receiving a request to record, report,
4 transmit, display, or release information and photographs
5 pertaining to a missing person under the age of 26 from the
6 law enforcement agency having jurisdiction over the missing or
7 endangered person, the Department of Law Enforcement; any
8 state or local law enforcement agency and the personnel of
9 these agencies; any radio or television network, broadcaster,
10 or other media representative; any dealer of communications
11 services as defined in s. 202.11; or any agency, employee,
12 individual, or entity is immune from civil liability for
13 damages for complying in good faith with the request and is
14 presumed to have acted in good faith in recording, reporting,
15 transmitting, displaying, or releasing information or
16 photographs pertaining to such person.
17 (c)(b) The presumption of good faith is not overcome
18 if a technical or clerical error is made by any such agency,
19 employee, individual, or entity acting at the request of the
20 local law enforcement agency having jurisdiction or if the
21 Amber Alert or Missing Child Alert information is incomplete
22 or incorrect because the information received from the local
23 law enforcement agency was incomplete or incorrect.
24 (d)(c) Neither this subsection nor any other provision
25 of law creates a duty of the agency, employee, individual, or
26 entity to record, report, transmit, display, or release the
27 Amber Alert or Missing Child Alert information received from
28 the local law enforcement agency having jurisdiction. The
29 decision to record, report, transmit, display, or release
30 information is discretionary with the agency, employee,
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1 individual, or entity receiving that information from the
2 local law enforcement agency having jurisdiction.
3 (5)(a) If a person under the age of 26 has been
4 missing for more than 90 days, the law enforcement agency
5 having jurisdiction of the case shall, with the consent of the
6 biological next of kin, obtain the following information:
7 1. Biological samples suitable for DNA analysis, if
8 available.
9 2. Appropriate consent forms necessary to access the
10 Combined DNA Indexing System (CODIS) which includes local,
11 state, and national DNA databases.
12 (b) If a person under the age of 26 has been missing
13 for more than 90 days, the law enforcement agency having
14 jurisdiction of the case shall obtain secondary samples
15 belonging to the missing person, when available.
16 (c) The law enforcement agency shall send appropriate
17 biological samples and materials obtained to the Department of
18 Law Enforcement. The department shall coordinate with
19 appropriate agencies following established procedures to
20 complete DNA analysis of the samples and upload appropriate
21 DNA profiles to CODIS.
22 (d) This subsection does not preclude a law
23 enforcement agency from attempting to obtain information or
24 biological samples before the expiration of the 90-day period.
25 Section 2. Section 937.022, Florida Statutes, is
26 amended to read:
27 937.022 Missing Children Information Clearinghouse.--
28 (1) There is created a Missing Children Information
29 Clearinghouse within the Department of Law Enforcement. The
30 clearinghouse is established as a central repository of
31 information regarding missing children. Such information
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1 shall be collected and disseminated to assist in the location
2 of missing children and persons under the age of 26.
3 (2) The clearinghouse shall be supervised by a
4 director who shall be employed upon the recommendation of the
5 executive director. The executive director shall establish
6 services deemed appropriate by the department to aid in the
7 location of missing children and persons under the age of 26.
8 (3) The clearinghouse shall:
9 (a) Establish a system of intrastate communication of
10 information relating to children determined to be missing by
11 their parents, guardians, or legal custodians or by law
12 enforcement agencies.
13 (b) Provide a centralized file for the exchange of
14 information on missing children and persons under the age of
15 26 within the state.
16 1. Every state, county, or municipal law enforcement
17 agency shall submit to the clearinghouse information received
18 by it pursuant to s. 937.021.
19 2. Any parent, guardian, or legal custodian, spouse,
20 significant other, or consanguineous relation may submit a
21 missing person child report to the clearinghouse about a child
22 or person 26 years of age or younger whose whereabouts is
23 unknown, regardless of the circumstances, subsequent to
24 reporting such child missing person to the appropriate law
25 enforcement agency. The within the county in which the child
26 became missing, which missing person child report shall be
27 included in the clearinghouse database.
28 (c) Interface with the National Crime Information
29 Center for the exchange of information on children suspected
30 of interstate travel.
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1 (d) Collect, process, maintain, and disseminate
2 information on missing children and persons under the age of
3 26 and strive to maintain or disseminate only accurate and
4 complete information.
5 (4) The parent, guardian, or legal custodian or
6 reporter who is responsible for notifying the clearinghouse or
7 a law enforcement agency about a missing child or person under
8 the age of 26 shall immediately notify the clearinghouse or
9 the agency of any child or missing person whose location has
10 been determined.
11 (5) Information received pursuant to s. 937.021 about
12 a missing child or person under the age of 26, which
13 information has been included in the clearinghouse database,
14 shall be purged by the appropriate law enforcement agency
15 immediately upon location of such child.
16 (6) As used in this section, the term:
17 (a) "Missing child" means a person who is under the
18 age of 18 years; whose temporary or permanent residence is in,
19 or is believed to be in, this state; whose location has not
20 been determined; and who has been reported as missing to a law
21 enforcement agency.
22 (b) "Missing person" means a person under the age of
23 26 who has been reported as missing to a local law enforcement
24 agency. Missing persons who are age 26 or older do not come
25 under the authority of the Missing Children Information
26 Clearinghouse.
27 (c)(b) "Missing child report" or "missing person
28 report" means a report prepared on a form designed by the
29 Department of Law Enforcement for the use by private citizens
30 and law enforcement agencies to report information about
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1 missing children or missing persons under the age of 26 to the
2 Missing Children Information Clearinghouse.
3 Section 3. The Department of Law Enforcement shall
4 create within the Missing Children Information Clearinghouse a
5 database containing appropriate forensic photos and other
6 information on unidentified deceased persons. The information
7 shall be provided to the Department of Law Enforcement by
8 medical examiners and law enforcement agencies having
9 information pertaining to unidentified persons as specified in
10 section 406.145, Florida Statutes, and compiled in a database
11 that is searchable and available to the public via the
12 Internet.
13 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.
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15 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
16 Senate Bill 2864
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18 - Removes special requirements for investigating law
enforcement agencies to obtain evidence and disseminate
19 information concerning missing persons of all ages, and
providing requirement for addressing missing persons
20 under the age of 26.
21 - Includes persons under the age of 26 within FDLE's
Missing Children Information Clearinghouse, which
22 currently applies only to children under 18 years old.
23 - Removes designation of categories of missing persons as
"high-risk missing persons."
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- Replaces requirement for certain actions to be taken by
25 law enforcement investigators and medical examiners with
regard to identification of human remains with creation
26 of an Internet-searchable database of information
relating to unidentified deceased persons.
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