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83rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2025 Regular Session
House Bill 3926
Sponsored by Representative EDWARDS
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject
to consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor’s brief statement of the essential features of the
measure as introduced.The statement includes a measure digest written in compliance with applicable readability
standards.
Digest: The Act directs DSP to create a way for families to exchange messages with their
missing family members. The Act would not force contact among family members. (Flesch Readabil-
ity Score:61.5).
Directs the Department of State Police to create the SIGNAL program (State Initiated Guidance
for Notifying and Assisting the Lost). Provides a way for a parent or former guardian of a missing
person between 18 years of age and 30 years of age to exchange messages with the missing family
member. Requires the department to destroy all information and materials received under the pro-
gram within specified time limits.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to missing persons.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. Section 2 of this 2025 Act is added to and made a part of ORS 181A.010 to
181A.350.
SECTION 2. (1) As used in this section, “missing family member” means a person be-
tween 18 years of age and 30 years of age who has been reported as missing and entered into
state and federal missing persons records by a law enforcement agency under ORS 146.181.
(2) The Department of State Police shall establish the State Initiated Guidance for Noti-
fying and Assisting the Lost program to allow for the Oregon State Police, county sheriffs
and participating municipal police departments to exchange messages between a missing
family member and the parent or former guardian of the missing family member. The de-
partmentshall:
(a) On any missing persons website maintained by the department, maintain a link that
enables a parent or former guardian to submit, by means of written text or voice recording,
a message addressed to the missing family member of the parent or former guardian.
(b) Attach a message submitted under this subsection to the corresponding missing per-
sons report maintained by the department so that the message can be accessed by the re-
cipient as described in this subsection.
(c) Create a personal identification number that is accessible by the Oregon State Police,
county sheriffs and participating municipal police departments for each message submitted
under this subsection that may be provided to and used by a missing family member to
securely access the message from the missing family member’s parent or former guardian
by means of the telephone line maintained under paragraph (d) of this subsection.
(d) Maintain an automated telephone line that receives calls from missing family mem-
bers and securely disseminates to missing family members messages submitted under this
subsection, whether in the form of a voice recording or written text that has been converted
NOTE:Matter in boldfaced type in an amended section is new; matter [italic and bracketed] is existing law to be omitted.
New sections are in boldfaced type.
LC 4744 HB3926
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into a synthesized voice message. A missing family member who accesses a message under
this section may record a response on the telephone line, and the department shall transmit
the response to the parent or former guardian of the missing family member.
(3) A police officer of a participating municipal police department, a member of the state
police, a sheriff or a deputy sheriff who finds a missing family member shall notify the
missing family member of any message for the missing family member submitted under
subsection (2)(a) of this section, and shall provide the telephone number and personal iden-
tification number of each message created pursuant to subsection (2)(c) and (d) of this sec-
tion.
(4) Notwithstanding the requirements set forth in ORS 146.189 regarding the destruction
of information and materials related to a missing person when the missing person is dis-
covered to be living, the department shall retain messages submitted under subsection (2)(a)
of this section for at least 180 days after a missing family member receives the telephone
number and personal identification number necessary to access a message from the missing
family member’s parent or former guardian. Not later than one year after a missing family
member receives the information necessary to access a message submitted under subsection
(2)(a) of this section, or, if the missing family member records a response, not later than one
year after the response is recorded and transmitted to the parent or former guardian of the
missing family member, the department shall destroy all information and materials received
under this section.
(5) Municipal police departments may participate in the program described in this sec-
tion.
(6)(a) The department and each sheriff’s office and participating municipal police de-
partment shall adopt written policies to implement the requirements of this section, includ-
ing standards for maintaining and clearing computer data of missing persons information
collected under this section and stored by law enforcement agencies.
(b) The department may adopt rules to carry out the provisions of this section.
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