By: Hull H.B. No. 1419
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the duties of a law enforcement agency regarding
missing children and missing persons and regarding unidentified
bodies.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as John and Joseph's Law.
SECTION 2. Article 63.009, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by amending Subsections (a), (b), (c), and (f) and adding
Subsections (c-1) and (c-2) to read as follows:
(a) A [Local] law enforcement agency [agencies], on
receiving a report of a missing child or [a] missing person, shall:
(1) if the subject of the report is a child and the
child is at a high risk of harm or is otherwise in danger or if the
subject of the report is a person who is known by the agency to have
or is reported to have chronic dementia, including Alzheimer's
dementia, whether caused by illness, brain defect, or brain injury,
immediately start an investigation in order to determine the
present location of the child or person;
(2) if the subject of the report is a child or person
other than a child or person described by Subdivision (1), start an
investigation with due diligence in order to determine the present
location of the child or person;
(3) immediately, but not later than two hours after
receiving the report, enter the name of the child or person into or
to the clearinghouse, the national crime information center missing
person file if the child or person meets the center's criteria, and
report the information to the Alzheimer's Association Safe Return
emergency response center [crisis number], if applicable, with all
available identifying features such as dental records,
fingerprints, other physical characteristics, and a description of
the clothing worn when last seen, and all available information
describing any person reasonably believed to have taken or retained
the missing child or missing person; [and]
(4) not later than the 30th day after the date the
agency receives the report, enter the name of the child or person
into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, with all
available identifying features such as dental records,
fingerprints, other physical characteristics, and a description of
the clothing worn when last seen, and all available information
describing any person reasonably believed to have taken or retained
the missing child or missing person; and
(5) inform the person who filed the report of the
missing child or missing person that the information will be
entered into or reported to the clearinghouse, the national crime
information center missing person file, the National Missing and
Unidentified Persons System, and the Alzheimer's Association Safe
Return emergency response center [crisis number], if applicable.
(b) Information not immediately available when the original
entry is made shall be [obtained by the agency and] entered into the
clearinghouse, [and] the national crime information center file,
and the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System as a
supplement to the original entry as soon as possible.
(c) All Texas law enforcement agencies or their designees
are required to enter information about all unidentified bodies
into the clearinghouse, [and] the national crime information center
unidentified person file, and the National Missing and Unidentified
Persons System as described by Subsections (c-1) and (c-2).
(c-1) A law enforcement agency shall, not later than the
10th working day after the date the death is reported to the agency,
enter all available identifying features of the unidentified body
(fingerprints, dental records, any unusual physical
characteristics, and a description of the clothing found on the
body) into the clearinghouse and the national crime information
center file. If an information entry into the national crime
information center file results in an automatic entry of the
information into the clearinghouse, the law enforcement agency is
not required to make a direct entry of that information into the
clearinghouse.
(c-2) A law enforcement agency or their designee shall, not
later than the 10th working day after which identifying features of
the unidentified body have been determined, but not later than the
60th day after the date the death is reported to the agency, enter
all available identifying features of the unidentified body
(fingerprints, dental records, any unusual physical
characteristics, and a description of the clothing found on the
body) into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.
(f) Immediately after the return of a missing child or
missing person or the identification of an unidentified body, the
local law enforcement agency having jurisdiction of the
investigation shall:
(1) cancelclear the entry in the national crime
information center database; and
(2) notify the National Missing and Unidentified
Persons System.
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to the report of a missing child or missing person or an
unidentified body that is made to a law enforcement agency on or
after the effective date of this Act. The report of a missing child
or missing person or an unidentified body that is made to a law
enforcement agency before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect when the report was made, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.