H.B. No. 1075
AN ACT
relating to an alert for a missing person with an intellectual
disability.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Subchapter L, Chapter 411,
Government Code, is amended to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER L. STATEWIDE AMERICA'S MISSING: BROADCAST EMERGENCY
RESPONSE (AMBER) ALERT SYSTEM FOR ABDUCTED CHILDREN AND MISSING
PERSONS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES
SECTION 2. Section 411.351, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subdivisions (2) and (3) and adding Subdivisions (2-a) and
(3-a) to read as follows:
(2) "Alert system" means the statewide America's
Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response (AMBER) alert system for
abducted children and missing persons with intellectual
disabilities.
(2-a) "Intellectual disability" means significantly
subaverage general intellectual functioning that is concurrent
with deficits in adaptive behavior and originates during the
developmental period. The term includes a pervasive developmental
disorder.
(3) "Local law enforcement agency" means a local law
enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the investigation of:
(A) the abduction of a child; or
(B) a missing person with an intellectual
disability.
(3-a) "Pervasive developmental disorder" means a
disorder that meets the criteria for a pervasive developmental
disorder established in the most recent Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders published by the American Psychiatric
Association.
SECTION 3. Section 411.352, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 411.352. STATEWIDE AMERICA'S MISSING: BROADCAST
EMERGENCY RESPONSE (AMBER) ALERT SYSTEM FOR ABDUCTED CHILDREN AND
MISSING PERSONS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES. With the
cooperation of the Texas Department of Transportation, the office
of the governor, and other appropriate law enforcement agencies in
this state, the department shall develop and implement a statewide
alert system to be activated on behalf of an abducted child or a
missing person with an intellectual disability.
SECTION 4. Section 411.355, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 411.355. ACTIVATION. (a) On the request of a local
law enforcement agency regarding an abducted child, the department
shall activate the alert system and notify appropriate participants
in the alert system, as established by rule, if:
(1) the local law enforcement agency believes that a
child has been abducted, including a child who:
(A) is younger than 14 years of age; and
(B) regardless of whether the child departed
willingly with the other person, has been taken from the care and
custody of the child's parent or legal guardian without the
permission of the parent or legal guardian by another person who is:
(i) more than three years older than the
child; and
(ii) not related to the child by any degree
of consanguinity or affinity as defined under Subchapter B, Chapter
573, Government Code;
(2) the local law enforcement agency believes that the
abducted child is in immediate danger of serious bodily injury or
death or of becoming the victim of a sexual assault;
(3) the local law enforcement agency confirms that a
preliminary investigation has taken place that verifies the
abduction and eliminates alternative explanations for the child's
disappearance; and
(4) sufficient information is available to
disseminate to the public that could assist in locating the child, a
person suspected of abducting the child, or a vehicle suspected of
being used in the abduction.
(b) On the request of a local law enforcement agency
regarding a missing person with an intellectual disability, the
department shall activate the alert system and notify appropriate
participants in the alert system, as established by rule, if:
(1) the local law enforcement agency receives notice
of a missing person with an intellectual disability;
(2) the local law enforcement agency verifies that at
the time the person is reported missing:
(A) the person has an intellectual disability, as
determined according to the procedure provided by Section 593.005,
Health and Safety Code; and
(B) the person's location is unknown;
(3) the local law enforcement agency determines that
the person's disappearance poses a credible threat to the person's
health and safety; and
(4) sufficient information is available to
disseminate to the public that could assist in locating the person.
(c) The department may modify the criteria described by
Subsection (a) or (b) as necessary for the proper implementation of
the alert system.
SECTION 5. Section 411.356, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 411.356. LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES. Before
requesting activation of the alert system, a local law enforcement
agency must verify that the criteria described by Section
411.355(a) or (b), as applicable, have been satisfied. On
verification of the applicable criteria, the local law enforcement
agency shall immediately contact the department to request
activation and shall supply the necessary information on the forms
prescribed by the director.
SECTION 6. Section 411.358, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 411.358. TERMINATION. The director shall terminate
any activation of the alert system with respect to a particular
abducted child or a particular missing person with an intellectual
disability if:
(1) the abducted child or missing person is recovered
or the situation [abduction] is otherwise resolved; or
(2) the director determines that the alert system is
no longer an effective tool for locating and recovering the
abducted child or missing person.
SECTION 7. Subchapter L, Chapter 411, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 411.359 to read as follows:
Sec. 411.359. SYSTEM NAME. The director by rule may assign
a name other than America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response
(AMBER) to the alert system when the system is activated regarding a
missing person with an intellectual disability.
SECTION 8. Not later than December 1, 2011, the public
safety director of the Department of Public Safety of the State of
Texas shall adopt rules and issue directives necessary to implement
Subchapter L, Chapter 411, Government Code, as amended by this Act.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1075 was passed by the House on April
15, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 140, Nays 0, 2 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1075 was passed by the Senate on May
21, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor