1

A bill to be entitled

2

An act relating to an electronic monitoring program for

3

tracking lost persons; establishing a grant program to

4

encourage counties to implement county personal tracking

5

programs; describing the components of the program;

6

designating the Department of Law Enforcement as the

7

administrative agency; providing for application for state

8

grant funds and requiring local matching funds; providing

9

a cap on the amount of a grant and for prioritizing and

10

prorating grants; requiring the county sheriff's office or

11

other lead agency to use the funds for purchasing

12

equipment and training; requiring the solicitation of

13

private moneys and the achievement of financial

14

independence for the program within a specified time;

15

providing an appropriation; providing an effective date.

16

17

     WHEREAS, more than 5 million United States residents have

18

Alzheimer's disease and more than 50 percent of those individuals

19

wander and become lost, and

20

     WHEREAS, autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental

21

disability in the United States and many autistic individuals

22

wander and are attracted to water, causing drowning to be the

23

leading cause of death for children who have autism, and

24

     WHEREAS, agencies that sponsor local personal tracking

25

programs have stated that the programs materially reduce the time

26

required to find lost persons, often to less than ½ hour after

27

the person is reported missing, within which period there is a

28

100 percent recovery rate, and

29

     WHEREAS, 16 Florida counties and 5 police departments have

30

implemented personal tracking programs, NOW, THEREFORE,

31

32

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

33

34

     Section 1. Personal tracking program grants.--

35

     (1) A state grant program is established to encourage each

36

county in this state to implement a personal tracking program

37

that is a search-and-rescue program designed to quickly find a

38

lost or wandering person who is mentally impaired due to

39

Alzheimer's disease, autism, Down syndrome, or other causes.

40

     (2) The Department of Law Enforcement shall administer the

41

grant program, manage the state moneys appropriated for the

42

purpose of starting county programs, and serve as a liaison to

43

county personal tracking programs.

44

     (3) To apply for state grant moneys for implementing a

45

county personal tracking program, a county sheriff's office or

46

other lead agency must submit an application annually by October

47

1, which includes:

48

     (a) An estimate of the number of people who might qualify

49

for personal tracking assistance;

50

     (b) An estimate of the startup cost;

51

     (c) A statement of the number of personnel available for

52

tracking lost individuals; and

53

     (d) The source or sources and the amount of local funds

54

available for matching state grant moneys.

55

     (4) The department shall prioritize the grant moneys in

56

accordance with the respective counties' needs for tracking

57

services, the availability of local sources to provide matching

58

funds, and the date the application was received by the

59

department. The maximum grant that a county may receive for

60

startup costs is $10,000, and the amount awarded must be matched,

61

dollar for dollar, by local funds. Grants awarded to qualifying

62

counties must be prorated in accordance with the availability of

63

state funds.

64

     (5) The county sheriff's office or other lead agency shall

65

use the grant money and matching funds to purchase the necessary

66

equipment and training to implement a county personal tracking

67

program. Through its community resource officer, the sheriff's

68

office or other lead agency shall solicit moneys from private

69

sources so as to ensure that within 3 years the personal tracking

70

program is self-supporting and no longer requires state funding.

71

     Section 2. The sum of $670,000 is appropriated from the

72

General Revenue Fund to the Department of Law Enforcement for the

73

2008-2009 fiscal year for the purpose of awarding grants to

74

counties that qualify under this act to start a county personal

75

tracking program.

76

     Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.