Bill Text: FL S0640 | 2024 | Regular Session | Comm Sub


Bill Title: Purple Alert

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-03-01 - Laid on Table, refer to HB 937 [S0640 Detail]

Download: Florida-2024-S0640-Comm_Sub.html
       Florida Senate - 2024                              CS for SB 640
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Transportation; and Senator Berman
       
       
       
       
       
       596-02182-24                                           2024640c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the Purple Alert; amending s.
    3         937.0205, F.S.; requiring local law enforcement
    4         agencies to develop policies for a local activation of
    5         a Purple Alert for certain missing adults; specifying
    6         requirements for such policies; specifying duties of
    7         the Department of Law Enforcement’s Missing Endangered
    8         Persons Information Clearinghouse in the event of a
    9         state Purple Alert; specifying conditions under which
   10         a local law enforcement agency may request the
   11         clearinghouse to open a case; conforming provisions to
   12         changes made by the act; providing an effective date.
   13          
   14  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   15  
   16         Section 1. Section 937.0205, Florida Statutes, is amended
   17  to read:
   18         937.0205 Purple Alert.—
   19         (1) The Legislature finds that a standardized state system
   20  is necessary to aid in the search for a missing adult identified
   21  in subsection (4) paragraph (4)(a). The Legislature also finds
   22  that a coordinated local law enforcement and state agency
   23  response with prompt and widespread sharing of information will
   24  improve the chances of finding the person.
   25         (2) It is the intent of the Legislature to establish the
   26  Purple Alert, to be implemented in a manner that, to the extent
   27  practicable, safeguards the privacy rights and related health
   28  and diagnostic information of such missing adults.
   29         (3) The Department of Law Enforcement, in cooperation with
   30  the Department of Transportation, the Department of Highway
   31  Safety and Motor Vehicles, the Department of the Lottery, and
   32  local law enforcement agencies, shall establish and implement
   33  the Purple Alert. At a minimum, the Purple Alert must:
   34         (a) Be the only viable means by which the missing adult is
   35  likely to be returned to safety;
   36         (b) Provide, to the greatest extent possible, for the
   37  protection of the privacy, dignity, and independence of the
   38  missing adult by including standards aimed at safeguarding these
   39  civil liberties by preventing the inadvertent or unnecessary
   40  broadcasting or dissemination of sensitive health and diagnostic
   41  information;
   42         (c) Limit the broadcasting and dissemination of alerts and
   43  related information to the geographic areas where the missing
   44  adult could reasonably be, considering his or her circumstances
   45  and physical and mental condition, the potential modes of
   46  transportation available to him or her or suspected to be
   47  involved, and the known or suspected circumstances of his or her
   48  disappearance; and
   49         (d) Be activated only when there is sufficient descriptive
   50  information about the missing adult and the circumstances
   51  surrounding his or her disappearance to indicate that activating
   52  the alert is likely to help locate the missing adult.
   53         (4)(a) Under a Purple Alert, a local law enforcement agency
   54  may broadcast to the media and to persons who subscribe to
   55  receive alert notifications under this section information
   56  concerning a missing adult is deemed to be an adult:
   57         (a)1. Who has a mental or cognitive disability that is not
   58  Alzheimer’s disease or a dementia-related disorder; an
   59  intellectual disability or a developmental disability, as those
   60  terms are defined in s. 393.063; a brain injury; another
   61  physical, mental, or emotional disability that is not related to
   62  substance abuse; or a combination of any of these;
   63         (b)2. Whose disappearance indicates a credible threat of
   64  immediate danger or serious bodily harm to himself or herself,
   65  as determined by the local law enforcement agency;
   66         (c)3. Who cannot be returned to safety without law
   67  enforcement intervention; and
   68         (d)4. Who does not meet the criteria for activation of a
   69  local Silver Alert or the Silver Alert Plan of the Department of
   70  Law Enforcement.
   71         (5) For a missing adult on foot or in an unidentified
   72  vehicle, local law enforcement agencies shall develop their own
   73  policies for activation of a local Purple Alert that meets the
   74  requirements set forth in s. 937.021 and shall:
   75         (a) Contact media outlets in the affected area or
   76  surrounding jurisdictions;
   77         (b) Inform all on-duty law enforcement officers of the
   78  missing adult report; and
   79         (c) Communicate the report to any other law enforcement
   80  agency in the county of jurisdiction.
   81         (6) A state Purple Alert may be requested from the
   82  Department of Law Enforcement’s Missing Endangered Persons
   83  Information Clearinghouse when the investigation indicates that
   84  there is a motor vehicle with an identified license plate or
   85  other vehicle information. The clearinghouse shall:
   86         (a) Coordinate with the Department of Transportation and
   87  the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles for the
   88  activation of dynamic message signs on state highways and the
   89  immediate distribution of critical information to the public
   90  regarding the missing adult in accordance with the alert;
   91         (b) Coordinate with the Department of the Lottery to have
   92  the state Purple Alert broadcast on lottery terminals,
   93  including, but not limited to, lottery terminals in gas
   94  stations, convenience stores, and supermarkets; and
   95         (c) Notify subscribers.
   96         (7) If a local or state Purple Alert is determined to be
   97  necessary and appropriate, the local law enforcement agency
   98  having jurisdiction may also request that a case be opened with
   99  the Department of Law Enforcement’s Missing Endangered Persons
  100  Information Clearinghouse.
  101         (b) If a Purple Alert is determined to be necessary and
  102  appropriate, the local law enforcement agency having
  103  jurisdiction must notify the media and subscribers in the
  104  jurisdiction or jurisdictions where the missing adult is
  105  believed to or may be located. The local law enforcement agency
  106  having jurisdiction may also request that the Purple Alert
  107  notification be broadcast on lottery terminals within the
  108  geographic regions where the missing adult may reasonably be,
  109  including, but not limited to, lottery terminals in gas
  110  stations, convenience stores, and supermarkets.
  111         (c) Under the Purple Alert, the local law enforcement
  112  agency having jurisdiction may also request that a case be
  113  opened with the Department of Law Enforcement’s Missing
  114  Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse. To enhance local
  115  or regional efforts when the investigation indicates that an
  116  identifiable vehicle is involved, the clearinghouse must
  117  coordinate with the Department of Transportation and the
  118  Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles for the
  119  activation of dynamic message signs on state highways and the
  120  immediate distribution of critical information to the public
  121  regarding the missing adult in accordance with the alert.
  122         (8)(5) The state Purple Alert process must include
  123  procedures to monitor the use, activation, and results of alerts
  124  and a strategy for informing and educating law enforcement, the
  125  media, and other stakeholders concerning the alert.
  126         (9)(6) The Department of Law Enforcement may adopt rules to
  127  implement and administer this section.
  128         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.

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