HB 1039 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1039-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to missing persons; amending s. 2
937.021, F.S.; revising provisions concerning missing 3
children and adults to include references to the 4
National Missing and Unidentified Persons System; 5
providing an effective date. 6
7
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 8
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Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) and subsections 10
(2) and (4) of section 937.021, Florida Statutes, are amended to 11
read: 12
937.021 Missing child and missing adult reports. — 13
(1) Law enforcement agencies in this state shall adopt 14
written policies that specify the procedures to be used to 15
investigate reports of missing children and missing adults. The 16
policies must ensure that cases involving missing children and 17
adults are investigated promptly using appropriate resources. 18
The policies must include: 19
(c) Standards for maintaining and clearing computer data 20
of information concerning a missing child or mis sing adult which 21
is stored in the Florida Crime Information Center , and the 22
National Crime Information Center , and the National Missing and 23
Unidentified Persons System . The standards must require, at a 24
minimum, a monthly review of each case and a determina tion of 25
HB 1039 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1039-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
whether the case should be maintained in the database. 26
(2) An entry concerning a missing child or missing adult 27
may not be removed from the Florida Crime Information Center , or 28
the National Crime Information Center , or the National Missing 29
and Unidentified Persons System databases based solely on the 30
age of the missing child or missing adult. 31
(4)(a) Upon the filing of a police report that a child is 32
missing by the parent or guardian, the Department of Children 33
and Families, a community -based care provider, or a sheriff's 34
office providing investigative services for the department, the 35
law enforcement agency receiving the report shall immediately 36
inform all on-duty law enforcement officers of the missing child 37
report, communicate the report to ever y other law enforcement 38
agency having jurisdiction in the county, and within 2 hours 39
after receipt of the report, transmit the report for inclusion 40
within the Florida Crime Information Center , and the National 41
Crime Information Center , and the National Mis sing and 42
Unidentified Persons System databases. A law enforcement agency 43
may not require a reporter to present an order that a child be 44
taken into custody or any other such order before accepting a 45
report that a child is missing. 46
(b) Upon the filing of a credible police report that an 47
adult is missing, the law enforcement agency receiving the 48
report shall, within 2 hours after receipt of the report, 49
transmit the report for inclusion within the Florida Crime 50
HB 1039 2023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1039-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
Information Center, and the National Crime Infor mation Center 51
databases, and the National Missing and Unidentified Persons 52
System. 53
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 54