Florida Senate - 2014                                    SB 1144
       
       
        
       By Senator Simmons
       
       
       
       
       
       10-00392-14                                           20141144__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to missing children investigations;
    3         creating s. 937.0211, F.S.; requiring each law
    4         enforcement agency to adopt a Bronze Alert plan that
    5         establishes procedures for investigating reports of a
    6         missing child younger than 18 years of age, including
    7         runaways; requiring that certain procedures be
    8         included in the plan; establishing level one and level
    9         two alerts and requiring the issuance of such alerts,
   10         as specified in the act; providing an effective date.
   11          
   12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   13  
   14         Section 1. Section 937.0211, Florida Statutes, is created
   15  to read:
   16         937.0211 Bronze Alert.—
   17         (1) Each law enforcement agency in this state shall adopt a
   18  Bronze Alert plan that establishes the procedures to be followed
   19  when investigating reports of a missing child younger than 18
   20  years of age, including a runaway. The plan must ensure that
   21  state and local law enforcement agencies, businesses, schools,
   22  and media groups coordinate their efforts to expeditiously
   23  locate a missing child.
   24         (2) The Bronze Alert plan adopted by such agencies must
   25  require that the agency issue a Bronze Alert whenever a child
   26  younger than 18 years of age, including a runaway, is missing.
   27  The agency shall follow the procedures established in this
   28  subsection relating to level one and level two alerts and may
   29  adopt additional procedures.
   30         (a) Upon notification that a child has been missing for
   31  more than 6 consecutive hours, a law enforcement agency shall
   32  issue a level one Bronze Alert under which the agency shall:
   33         1. Provide information to the Missing Endangered Persons
   34  Information Clearinghouse, in accordance with s. 937.022.
   35         2. Issue a report containing the name of the missing child,
   36  a description of the child, and other pertinent information to
   37  the appropriate police communication system.
   38         3. Issue a report, along with a picture of the child, for
   39  distribution to radio, television, and other broadcast media
   40  outlets that serve the community. Priority of notification shall
   41  be given to media outlets that have agreed to immediately
   42  broadcast the Bronze Alert in lieu of regular programming.
   43         4. Issue a report, along with a picture of the child, for
   44  distribution by e-mail to all Internet service providers and
   45  commercial mobile service providers serving the community.
   46  Participating providers shall promptly issue, by e-mail and
   47  short message service, a missing child alert providing pertinent
   48  information concerning the child’s disappearance.
   49         5. Request that mobile service providers, Internet service
   50  providers, and social media networks deliver to the law
   51  enforcement agency the records and communication accounts
   52  listing all recent communications made by the missing child
   53  before his or her disappearance, upon request, and with the
   54  consent of the missing child’s parents, family member, or
   55  guardian who reported the child missing.
   56         6. Notify the public or private school or an employee at
   57  the school at which the missing child is currently enrolled at
   58  the time of disappearance or, if the child is not currently
   59  enrolled in school, the school at which the child was previously
   60  enrolled.
   61         (b) The law enforcement agency shall issue a level two
   62  Bronze Alert if the agency finds evidence that the missing child
   63  may be in danger of physical injury or death. A child who
   64  remains missing for more than 24 hours is presumed to be in
   65  danger. Under a level two Bronze Alert, the agency shall comply
   66  with all requirements of a level one alert and:
   67         1. Request that the public or private school where the
   68  child is currently enrolled, or was previously enrolled, flag
   69  the child’s records. The school shall flag all the child’s
   70  records in accordance with s. 937.025.
   71         2. Notwithstanding any law that provides for the
   72  confidentiality of a child’s medical records, flag medical
   73  records and distribute the records to all hospitals and health
   74  care facilities in this state.
   75         a. A public hospital or public health care facility shall
   76  immediately report to the local law enforcement agency any
   77  request concerning flagged medical records and shall report any
   78  information regarding the request which may assist law
   79  enforcement agencies in locating the missing child.
   80         b. A public hospital or public health care facility that
   81  provides such notification and information is immune from civil
   82  liability for reporting and providing the information.
   83         c. Upon notification by the local law enforcement agency
   84  that the medical records no longer need to be flagged, the
   85  public hospital or public health care facility shall remove the
   86  flag from the medical records.
   87         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.