Bill Text: TX HB4975 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to reporting procedures and training programs for law enforcement agencies regarding missing children and missing persons.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-03-23 - Referred to Homeland Security & Public Safety [HB4975 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HB4975-Introduced.html

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88R11916 MCF-F
By: Klick H.B. No. 4975

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to reporting procedures and training programs for law
enforcement agencies regarding missing children and missing
persons.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 2.13(c), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) It is the duty of every officer to take possession of a
child under Article 63.00905(g) [63.009(g)].
SECTION 2. The heading to Article 63.009, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
Art. 63.009. LAW ENFORCEMENT REQUIREMENTS GENERALLY.
SECTION 3. Articles 63.009(a), (d), and (f), Code of
Criminal Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
(a) A law enforcement agency, on receiving a report of a
[missing child or] 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
the clearinghouse and the national crime information center missing
person file if the [child or] person meets the center's criteria,
and report that name to the Alzheimer's Association Safe Return
emergency response center 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;
(4) not later than the 60th 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:
(A) entered into the clearinghouse, the national
crime information center missing person file, and the National
Missing and Unidentified Persons System; and
(B) reported to the Alzheimer's Association Safe
Return emergency response center if applicable.
(d) If a local law enforcement agency investigating a report
of a [missing child or] missing person obtains a warrant for the
arrest of a person for taking or retaining the [missing child or]
missing person, the local law enforcement agency shall immediately
enter the name and other descriptive information of the person into
the national crime information center wanted person file if the
person meets the center's criteria. The local law enforcement
agency shall also enter all available identifying features,
including dental records, fingerprints, and other physical
characteristics of the [missing child or] missing person. The
information shall be cross-referenced with the information in the
national crime information center missing person file.
(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 the entry in the national crime information
center database; and
(2) notify the National Missing and Unidentified
Persons System.
SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 63, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended by adding Article 63.00905 to read as
follows:
Art. 63.00905. LAW ENFORCEMENT REQUIREMENTS FOR REPORT OF
MISSING CHILD. (a) A law enforcement agency, on receiving a report
of a missing child, shall:
(1) immediately start an investigation in order to
determine the present location of the child;
(2) immediately, but not later than two hours after
receiving the report, enter the name of the child into the
clearinghouse, the National Missing and Unidentified Persons
System, and the national crime information center missing person
file if the child meets the center's criteria, 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;
(3) immediately, but not later than two hours after
the agency receives the report, enter the applicable information
into the Texas Law Enforcement Telecommunications System or a
successor system of telecommunication used by law enforcement
agencies and operated by the Department of Public Safety; and
(4) inform the person who filed the report of the
missing child that the information will be entered into the
clearinghouse, the national crime information center missing
person file, and the National Missing and Unidentified Persons
System.
(b) A local law enforcement agency, on receiving a report of
a child missing under the circumstances described by Article
63.001(3)(D) for a period of not less than 48 hours, shall
immediately make a reasonable effort to locate the child and
determine the well-being of the child. On determining the location
of the child, if the agency has reason to believe that the child is a
victim of abuse or neglect as defined by Section 261.001, Family
Code, the agency:
(1) shall notify the Department of Family and
Protective Services; and
(2) may take possession of the child under Subchapter
B, Chapter 262, Family Code.
(c) The Department of Family and Protective Services, on
receiving notice under Subsection (b), may initiate an
investigation into the allegation of abuse or neglect under Section
261.301, Family Code, and take possession of the child under
Chapter 262, Family Code.
(d) Information not immediately available when the original
entry is made shall be entered into the clearinghouse, 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.
(e) If a local law enforcement agency investigating a report
of a missing child obtains a warrant for the arrest of a person for
taking or retaining the missing child, the local law enforcement
agency shall immediately enter the name and other descriptive
information of the person into the national crime information
center wanted person file if the person meets the center's
criteria. The local law enforcement agency shall also enter all
available identifying features, including dental records,
fingerprints, and other physical characteristics of the missing
child. The information shall be cross-referenced with the
information in the national crime information center missing person
file.
(f) Immediately after the return of a missing child, the
local law enforcement agency having jurisdiction of the
investigation shall:
(1) clear the entry in the national crime information
center database; and
(2) notify the National Missing and Unidentified
Persons System.
(g) On determining the location of a child, other than a
child who is subject to the continuing jurisdiction of a district
court, an officer shall take possession of the child and shall
deliver or arrange for the delivery of the child to a person
entitled to possession of the child. If the person entitled to
possession of the child is not immediately available, the law
enforcement officer shall deliver the child to the Department of
Family and Protective Services.
SECTION 5. Article 63.0091, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
Art. 63.0091. LAW ENFORCEMENT REQUIREMENTS REGARDING
REPORTS OF CERTAIN MISSING CHILDREN. (a) The public safety
director of the Department of Public Safety shall adopt rules
regarding the procedures for a local law enforcement agency on
receiving a report of a missing child who:
(1) had been reported missing on four or more
occasions in the 24-month period preceding the date of the current
report;
(2) is in foster care or in the conservatorship of the
Department of Family and Protective Services and had been reported
missing on two or more occasions in the 24-month period preceding
the date of the current report; or
(3) is [under 14 years of age and otherwise determined
by the local law enforcement agency or the Department of Public
Safety to be] at a high risk of human trafficking, sexual assault,
exploitation, abuse, or neglectful supervision for any reason the
agency considers to be high risk, including because the missing
child:
(A) disappeared while in a dangerous
environment;
(B) has mental or behavioral health needs;
(C) previously exhibited signs of mental
illness;
(D) has an intellectual or developmental
disability;
(E) is known to have been last seen or in
communication with a person unknown to the child's family or legal
guardian; or
(F) made concerning statements before
disappearing.
(b) The rules adopted under this article must require that:
(1) in entering information regarding the report into
the national crime information center missing person file as
required by Article 63.00905(a)(2) [63.009(a)(3)] for a missing
child described by Subsection (a), the local law enforcement agency
shall indicate, in the manner specified in the rules, that the child
is at a high risk of harm and include relevant information regarding
any prior occasions on which the child was reported missing; and
(2) the local law enforcement agency that receives a
report of a missing child described by Subsection (a)(3) shall:
(A) escalate the response using all available
resources; and
(B) immediately, but not later than two hours
after receiving the report, notify all law enforcement agencies
within 100 miles, including agencies from other states, of the
circumstances and high risk designation of the missing child.
(c) If, at the time the initial entry into the national
crime information center missing person file is made, the local law
enforcement agency has not determined that the requirements of this
article apply to the report of the missing child, the information
required by Subsection (b)(1) [(b)] must be added to the entry
promptly after the agency investigating the report or the
Department of Public Safety determines that the missing child is
described by Subsection (a).
SECTION 6. Section 1701.253, Occupations Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (q) to read as follows:
(q) As part of the minimum curriculum requirements, the
commission shall establish a basic education and training program
on missing children and missing persons, including instruction on
the associated reporting requirements under Chapter 63, Code of
Criminal Procedure. An officer shall complete the program not later
than the second anniversary of the date the officer is licensed
under this chapter unless the officer completes the program as part
of the officer's basic training course.
SECTION 7. Subchapter F, Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Section 1701.2581 to read as follows:
Sec. 1701.2581. VOLUNTARY ADVANCED EDUCATION AND TRAINING
PROGRAM ON MISSING CHILDREN AND MISSING PERSONS. The commission
shall make available to each officer a voluntary advanced education
and training program on missing children and missing persons. The
program must include instruction on the associated reporting
requirements under Chapter 63, Code of Criminal Procedure.
SECTION 8. The following provisions of the Code of Criminal
Procedure are repealed:
(1) Articles 63.009(a-1), (a-2), and (g); and
(2) Article 63.0092.
SECTION 9. The changes in law made by this Act to Chapter
63, Code of Criminal Procedure, apply only to the report of a
missing child or missing person 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 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 10. Section 1701.253(q), Occupations Code, as added
by this Act, applies only to a person who submits an application for
a peace officer license under Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, on or
after January 1, 2025. A person who submits an application for a
peace officer license under Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, before
January 1, 2025, is governed by the law in effect immediately before
the effective date of this Act, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 11. Not later than December 1, 2024, the Texas
Commission on Law Enforcement shall:
(1) establish the training programs required by
Sections 1701.253(q) and 1701.2581, Occupations Code, as added by
this Act; and
(2) adopt the rules necessary to implement Sections
1701.253(q) and 1701.2581, Occupations Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 12. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.