Corey Adams Searchlight Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1350 To encourage, enhance, and integrate Green Alert plans throughout the United States, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 25, 2019 Ms. MOORE (for herself, Mr. VELA, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. KILMER, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. MOOLENAAR, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. POCAN, Mr. KIND, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. COHEN, Ms. NORTON, and Mrs. DINGELL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To encourage, enhance, and integrate Green Alert plans throughout the United States, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Corey Adams Search- 4 light Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) MISSING VETERAN.—The term ‘‘missing 8 veteran’’ means an individual who— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Mar 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1350.IH H1350 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 1350 IH (A) is reported to, or identified by, a law 1 enforcement agency as a missing person; 2 (B) is a veteran; and 3 (C) meets the requirements to be des- 4 ignated as a missing veteran, as determined by 5 the State in which the individual is reported or 6 identified as a missing person. 7 (2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 8 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Com- 9 monwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin 10 Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Common- 11 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 12 (3) GREEN ALERT.—The term ‘‘Green Alert’’ 13 means an alert issued through the Green Alert com- 14 munications network, related to a missing veteran. 15 (4) VETERAN.—The term ‘‘veteran’’ means a 16 person who served in the Armed Forces. 17 SEC. 3. GREEN ALERT COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK. 18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall, sub- 19 ject to the availability of appropriations, establish a na- 20 tional communications network, to be known as the Green 21 Alert communications network, within the Department of 22 Justice to provide assistance to regional and local search 23 efforts for missing veterans through the initiation, facilita- 24 tion, and promotion of local elements of the network (re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Mar 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1350.IH H1350 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 1350 IH ferred to in this Act as ‘‘Green Alert plans’’), in coordina- 1 tion with States, units of local government, law enforce- 2 ment agencies, and other concerned entities with expertise 3 in providing services to veterans. 4 (b) COORDINATION WITH AMBER ALERT NET- 5 WORK.—In establishing the Green Alert communications 6 network under subsection (a), the Attorney General shall 7 ensure that, when feasible, the Green Alert communica- 8 tions network is able to operate in coordination with the 9 AMBER Alert communications network, established under 10 subtitle A of title III of the PROTECT Act (34 U.S.C. 11 20501 et seq.), to maximize the efficiency of both net- 12 works. 13 SEC. 4. GREEN ALERT COORDINATOR. 14 (a) NATIONAL COORDINATOR WITHIN DEPARTMENT 15 OF JUSTICE.—The Attorney General shall designate an 16 individual of the Department of Justice to act as the na- 17 tional coordinator of the Green Alert communications net- 18 work. The individual so designated shall be known as the 19 Green Alert Coordinator of the Department of Justice (re- 20 ferred to in this Act as the ‘‘Coordinator’’). 21 (b) DUTIES OF THE COORDINATOR.—In acting as the 22 national coordinator of the Green Alert communications 23 network, the Coordinator shall— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Mar 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1350.IH H1350 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 1350 IH (1) work with States to encourage the develop- 1 ment of additional Green Alert plans in the network; 2 (2) establish voluntary guidelines for States to 3 use in developing Green Alert plans that will pro- 4 mote compatible and integrated Green Alert plans 5 throughout the United States, including— 6 (A) a list of the resources necessary to es- 7 tablish a Green Alert plan; 8 (B) criteria for evaluating whether a situa- 9 tion warrants issuing a Green Alert, taking into 10 consideration the need for the use of such 11 Alerts to be limited in scope because the effec- 12 tiveness of the Green Alert communications net- 13 work may be affected by overuse, including cri- 14 teria to determine— 15 (i) whether the mental or physical ca- 16 pacity of a veteran who is missing, and the 17 circumstances of his or her disappearance, 18 warrant the issuance of a Green Alert, in- 19 cluding whether the veteran has a condi- 20 tion related to the veteran’s service in the 21 Armed Forces that increases the risk that 22 the veteran will harm himself or herself, or 23 another person; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Mar 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1350.IH H1350 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 1350 IH (ii) whether the individual who reports 1 that a veteran is missing is an appropriate 2 and credible source on which to base the 3 issuance of a Green Alert; 4 (C) a description of the appropriate uses of 5 the Green Alert name to readily identify the na- 6 ture of search efforts for missing veterans; and 7 (D) recommendations on how to protect 8 the privacy, dignity, independence, and auton- 9 omy of any missing veteran who may be the 10 subject of a Green Alert; 11 (3) develop proposed protocols for efforts to re- 12 cover missing veterans and to reduce the number of 13 veterans who are reported missing, including proto- 14 cols for procedures that are needed from the time of 15 initial notification of a law enforcement agency that 16 the veteran is missing through the time of the re- 17 turn of the veteran to family, guardian, or domicile, 18 as appropriate, including— 19 (A) public safety communications protocol; 20 (B) case management protocol; 21 (C) command center operations; 22 (D) reunification protocol; and 23 (E) incident review, evaluation, debriefing, 24 and public information procedures; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Mar 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1350.IH H1350 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 1350 IH (4) work with States to ensure appropriate re- 1 gional coordination of various elements of the net- 2 work; 3 (5) establish an advisory group to assist States, 4 units of local government, law enforcement agencies, 5 and other entities involved in the Green Alert com- 6 munications network with initiating, facilitating, and 7 promoting Green Alert plans, which shall include— 8 (A) to the maximum extent practicable, 9 representation from the various geographic re- 10 gions of the United States; and 11 (B) members who are— 12 (i) representatives of veteran advocacy 13 groups, law enforcement agencies, and 14 public safety communications; 15 (ii) broadcasters, first responders, dis- 16 patchers, and radio station personnel; and 17 (iii) representatives of any other indi- 18 viduals or organizations that the Coordi- 19 nator determines are necessary to the suc- 20 cess of the Green Alert communications 21 network; and 22 (6) act as the nationwide point of contact for— 23 (A) the development of the network; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Mar 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1350.IH H1350 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 1350 IH (B) regional coordination of alerts for 1 missing veterans through the network. 2 (c) COORDINATION.— 3 (1) COORDINATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES.— 4 The Coordinator shall coordinate and consult with 5 the Secretary of Transportation, the Federal Com- 6 munications Commission, the Secretary of Veterans 7 Affairs, and other appropriate offices of the Depart- 8 ment of Justice in carrying out activities under this 9 Act. 10 (2) STATE AND LOCAL COORDINATION.—The 11 Coordinator shall consult with local broadcasters and 12 State and local law enforcement agencies in estab- 13 lishing minimum standards under section 5 and in 14 carrying out other activities under this Act, as ap- 15 propriate. 16 (d) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than one year 17 after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 18 thereafter, the Coordinator shall submit to Congress a re- 19 port on the activities of the Coordinator and the effective- 20 ness and status of the Green Alert plans of each State 21 that has established or is in the process of establishing 22 such a plan. Each such report shall include— 23 (1) a list of States that have established Green 24 Alert plans; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Mar 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1350.IH H1350 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 1350 IH (2) a list of States that are in the process of 1 establishing Green Alert plans; 2 (3) for each State that has established such a 3 plan, to the extent the data is available— 4 (A) the number of Green Alerts issued; 5 (B) the number of individuals located suc- 6 cessfully; 7 (C) the average period of time between the 8 issuance of a Green Alert and the location of 9 the individual for whom such Alert was issued; 10 (D) the State agency or authority issuing 11 Green Alerts, and the process by which Green 12 Alerts are disseminated; 13 (E) the cost of establishing and operating 14 such a plan; 15 (F) the criteria used by the State to deter- 16 mine whether to issue a Green Alert; and 17 (G) the extent to which missing individuals 18 for whom Green Alerts were issued crossed 19 State lines; 20 (4) actions States have taken to protect the pri- 21 vacy and dignity of the individuals for whom Green 22 Alerts are issued; 23 (5) ways that States have facilitated and im- 24 proved communication about missing individuals be- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Mar 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1350.IH H1350 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 1350 IH tween families, caregivers, law enforcement officials, 1 and other authorities; and 2 (6) any other information the Coordinator de- 3 termines to be appropriate. 4 SEC. 5. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR ISSUANCE AND DIS- 5 SEMINATION OF ALERTS THROUGH GREEN 6 ALERT COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK. 7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF MINIMUM STANDARDS.— 8 Subject to subsection (b), the Coordinator shall establish 9 minimum standards for— 10 (1) the issuance of alerts through the Green 11 Alert communications network; and 12 (2) the extent of the dissemination of alerts 13 issued through the network. 14 (b) LIMITATIONS.— 15 (1) VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION.—The min- 16 imum standards established under subsection (a) of 17 this section, and any other guidelines and programs 18 established under section 4, shall be adoptable on a 19 voluntary basis only. 20 (2) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—The 21 minimum standards shall, to the maximum extent 22 practicable (as determined by the Coordinator in 23 consultation with State and local law enforcement 24 agencies), provide that appropriate information re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Mar 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1350.IH H1350 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 1350 IH lating to the special needs of a missing veteran (in- 1 cluding health care needs) are disseminated to the 2 appropriate law enforcement, public health, and 3 other public officials. 4 (3) GEOGRAPHIC AREAS.—The minimum stand- 5 ards shall, to the maximum extent practicable (as 6 determined by the Coordinator in consultation with 7 State and local law enforcement agencies), provide 8 that the dissemination of an alert through the Green 9 Alert communications network be limited to the geo- 10 graphic areas which the missing veteran could rea- 11 sonably reach, considering the missing veteran’s cir- 12 cumstances and physical and mental condition, the 13 modes of transportation available to the missing vet- 14 eran, and the circumstances of the disappearance. 15 (4) PRIVACY AND CIVIL LIBERTIES PROTEC- 16 TIONS.—The minimum standards shall— 17 (A) ensure that alerts issued through the 18 Green Alert communications network comply 19 with all applicable Federal, State, and local pri- 20 vacy laws and regulations; and 21 (B) include standards that specifically pro- 22 vide for the protection of the civil liberties and 23 sensitive medical information of missing vet- 24 erans. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Mar 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1350.IH H1350 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 1350 IH (5) STATE AND LOCAL VOLUNTARY COORDINA- 1 TION.—In carrying out the activities under sub- 2 section (a), the Coordinator may not interfere with 3 the current system of voluntary coordination be- 4 tween local broadcasters and State and local law en- 5 forcement agencies for purposes of the Green Alert 6 communications network. 7 SEC. 6. TRAINING AND OTHER RESOURCES. 8 (a) TRAINING AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS.—The 9 Coordinator shall make available to States, units of local 10 government, law enforcement agencies, and other con- 11 cerned entities that are involved in initiating, facilitating, 12 or promoting Green Alert plans, including broadcasters, 13 first responders, dispatchers, public safety communica- 14 tions personnel, and radio station personnel— 15 (1) training and educational programs related 16 to the Green Alert communications network and the 17 capabilities, limitations, and anticipated behaviors of 18 missing veterans, which shall be updated regularly to 19 encourage the use of new tools, technologies, and re- 20 sources in Green Alert plans; and 21 (2) informational materials, including bro- 22 chures, videos, posters, and websites to support and 23 supplement such training and educational programs. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Mar 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1350.IH H1350 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 1350 IH SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE 1 GREEN ALERT COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK. 2 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Attor- 3 ney General $500,000 to carry out the Green Alert com- 4 munications network as authorized under this Act. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Mar 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1350.IH H1350 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS