Bill Text: TX SB899 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the duties of a law enforcement agency regarding missing children and missing persons and regarding unidentified bodies.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-03-11 - Referred to Criminal Justice [SB899 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-SB899-Introduced.html
87R10403 AJZ-F | ||
By: Alvarado | S.B. No. 899 |
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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 [ |
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receiving a report of a missing child or [ |
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(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 or report 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 the Alzheimer's Association Safe Return emergency | ||
response center [ |
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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; [ |
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(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 [ |
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(b) Information not immediately available when the original | ||
entry is made shall be [ |
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clearinghouse, [ |
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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 the agencies' | ||
designees, as applicable, are required to enter information about | ||
all unidentified bodies into the clearinghouse, [ |
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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 or the agency's designee | ||
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 the agency's designee | ||
shall, not later than the 10th working day after the date that one | ||
or more identifying features of the unidentified body are | ||
determined and reported to the agency or the 30th day after the date | ||
the death is reported to the agency, whichever is earlier, 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) clear [ |
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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. |