IIB 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5075 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 26, 2018 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

AN ACT 

To encourage, enhance, and integrate Ashanti Alert plans 

throughout the United States, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ashanti Alert Act of 

3 2018’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) MISSING ADULT.—The term ‘‘missing 

7 adult’’ means an individual who— 

8 (A) is older than the age for which an 

9 AMBER alert may be issued in the State in 

10 which the individual is identified as a missing 

11 person; 

12 (B) is identified by a law enforcement 

13 agency as a missing person; and 

14 (C) meets the requirements to be des15 ignated as a missing adult, as determined by 

16 the State in which the individual is identified as 

17 a missing person. 

18 (2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

19 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Com20 monwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin 

21 Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Common22 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

23 (3) ASHANTI ALERT.—The term ‘‘Ashanti 

24 Alert’’ means an alert issued through the Ashanti 

25 Alert communications network, related to a missing 

26 adult. 


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1 SEC. 3. ASHANTI ALERT COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall, sub3 ject to the availability of appropriations, establish a na4 tional communications network, to be known as the 

5 Ashanti Alert communications network, within the De6 partment of Justice to provide assistance to regional and 

7 local search efforts for missing adults through the initi8 ation, facilitation, and promotion of local elements of the 

9 network (referred to in this Act as ‘‘Ashanti Alert plans’’), 

10 in coordination with States, units of local government, law 

11 enforcement agencies, and other concerned entities with 

12 expertise in providing services to adults. 

13 (b) INTEGRATION WITH BLUE ALERT COMMUNICA14 TIONS NETWORK.—In establishing the Ashanti Alert com15 munications network under subsection (a), the Attorney 

16 General shall integrate the Ashanti Alert communications 

17 network into the Blue Alert communications network es18 tablished under the Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu Na19 tional Blue Alert Act of 2015 (34 U.S.C. 50501 et seq.), 

20 to maximize the efficiency of both networks. 

21 SEC. 4. ASHANTI ALERT COORDINATOR. 

22 (a) NATIONAL COORDINATOR WITHIN DEPARTMENT

23 OF JUSTICE.—The Attorney General shall designate an 

24 individual of the Department of Justice to act as the na25 tional coordinator of the Ashanti Alert communications 

26 network. The individual so designated shall be known as 


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1 the Ashanti Alert Coordinator of the Department of Jus2 tice (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Coordinator’’). 

3 (b) DUTIES OF THE COORDINATOR.—In acting as the 

4 national coordinator of the Ashanti Alert communications 

5 network, the Coordinator shall— 

6 (1) work with States to encourage the develop7 ment of additional Ashanti Alert plans in the net8 work; 

9 (2) establish voluntary guidelines for States to 

10 use in developing Ashanti Alert plans that will pro11 mote compatible and integrated Ashanti Alert plans 

12 throughout the United States, including— 

13 (A) a list of the resources necessary to es14 tablish an Ashanti Alert plan; 

15 (B) criteria for evaluating whether a situa16 tion warrants issuing an Ashanti Alert, taking 

17 into consideration the need for the use of such 

18 Alerts to be limited in scope because the effec19 tiveness of the Ashanti Alert communications 

20 network may be affected by overuse, including 

21 criteria to determine— 

22 (i) whether the mental capacity of an 

23 adult who is missing, and the cir24 cumstances of his or her disappearance, 


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1 warrant the issuance of an Ashanti Alert; 

2 and 

3 (ii) whether the individual who reports 

4 that an adult is missing is an appropriate 

5 and credible source on which to base the 

6 issuance of an Ashanti Alert; 

7 (C) a description of the appropriate uses of 

8 the Ashanti Alert name to readily identify the 

9 nature of search efforts for missing adults; and 

10 (D) recommendations on how to protect 

11 the privacy, dignity, independence, and auton12 omy of any missing adult who may be the sub13 ject of an Ashanti Alert; 

14 (3) develop proposed protocols for efforts to re15 cover missing adults and to reduce the number of 

16 adults who are reported missing, including protocols 

17 for procedures that are needed from the time of ini18 tial notification of a law enforcement agency that 

19 the adult is missing through the time of the return 

20 of the adult to family, guardian, or domicile, as ap21 propriate, including— 

22 (A) public safety communications protocol; 

23 (B) case management protocol; 

24 (C) command center operations; 

25 (D) reunification protocol; and 


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1 (E) incident review, evaluation, debriefing, 

2 and public information procedures; 

3 (4) work with States to ensure appropriate re4 gional coordination of various elements of the net5 work; 

6 (5) establish an advisory group to assist States, 

7 units of local government, law enforcement agencies, 

8 and other entities involved in the Ashanti Alert com9 munications network with initiating, facilitating, and 

10 promoting Ashanti Alert plans, which shall include— 

11 (A) to the maximum extent practicable, 

12 representation from the various geographic re13 gions of the United States; and 

14 (B) members who are— 

15 (i) representatives of adult citizen ad16 vocacy groups, law enforcement agencies, 

17 and public safety communications; 

18 (ii) broadcasters, first responders, dis19 patchers, and radio station personnel; and 

20 (iii) representatives of any other indi21 viduals or organizations that the Coordi22 nator determines are necessary to the suc23 cess of the Ashanti Alert communications 

24 network; and 

25 (6) act as the nationwide point of contact for— 


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1 (A) the development of the network; and 

2 (B) regional coordination of alerts for 

3 missing adults through the network. 

4 (c) COORDINATION.— 

5 (1) COORDINATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES.— 

6 The Coordinator shall coordinate and consult with 

7 the Secretary of Transportation, the Federal Com8 munications Commission, the Assistant Secretary for 

9 Aging of the Department of Health and Human 

10 Services, and other appropriate offices of the De11 partment of Justice in carrying out activities under 

12 this Act. 

13 (2) STATE AND LOCAL COORDINATION.—The 

14 Coordinator shall consult with local broadcasters and 

15 State and local law enforcement agencies in estab16 lishing minimum standards under section 5 and in 

17 carrying out other activities under this Act, as ap18 propriate. 

19 (d) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than one year 

20 after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 

21 thereafter, the Coordinator shall submit to Congress a re22 port on the activities of the Coordinator and the effective23 ness and status of the Ashanti Alert plans of each State 

24 that has established or is in the process of establishing 

25 such a plan. Each such report shall include— 


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1 (1) a list of States that have established 

2 Ashanti Alert plans; 

3 (2) a list of States that are in the process of 

4 establishing Ashanti Alert plans; 

5 (3) for each State that has established such a 

6 plan, to the extent the data is available— 

7 (A) the number of Ashanti Alerts issued; 

8 (B) the number of individuals located suc9 cessfully; 

10 (C) the average period of time between the 

11 issuance of an Ashanti Alert and the location of 

12 the individual for whom such Alert was issued; 

13 (D) the State agency or authority issuing 

14 Ashanti Alerts, and the process by which 

15 Ashanti Alerts are disseminated; 

16 (E) the cost of establishing and operating 

17 such a plan; 

18 (F) the criteria used by the State to deter19 mine whether to issue an Ashanti Alert; and 

20 (G) the extent to which missing individuals 

21 for whom Ashanti Alerts were issued crossed 

22 State lines; 

23 (4) actions States have taken to protect the pri24 vacy and dignity of the individuals for whom Ashanti 

25 Alerts are issued; 


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1 (5) ways that States have facilitated and im2 proved communication about missing individuals be3 tween families, caregivers, law enforcement officials, 

4 and other authorities; and 

5 (6) any other information the Coordinator de6 termines to be appropriate. 

7 SEC. 5. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR ISSUANCE AND DIS8 SEMINATION OF ALERTS THROUGH ASHANTI 

9 ALERT COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK. 

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF MINIMUM STANDARDS.— 

11 Subject to subsection (b), the Coordinator shall establish 

12 minimum standards for— 

13 (1) the issuance of alerts through the Ashanti 

14 Alert communications network; and 

15 (2) the extent of the dissemination of alerts 

16 issued through the network. 

17 (b) LIMITATIONS.— 

18 (1) VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION.—The min19 imum standards established under subsection (a) of 

20 this section, and any other guidelines and programs 

21 established under section 4, shall be adoptable on a 

22 voluntary basis only. 

23 (2) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—The 

24 minimum standards shall, to the maximum extent 

25 practicable (as determined by the Coordinator in 


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1 consultation with State and local law enforcement 

2 agencies), provide that appropriate information re3 lating to the special needs of a missing adult (in4 cluding health care needs) are disseminated to the 

5 appropriate law enforcement, public health, and 

6 other public officials. 

7 (3) GEOGRAPHIC AREAS.—The minimum stand8 ards shall, to the maximum extent practicable (as 

9 determined by the Coordinator in consultation with 

10 State and local law enforcement agencies), provide 

11 that the dissemination of an alert through the 

12 Ashanti Alert communications network be limited to 

13 the geographic areas which the missing adult could 

14 reasonably reach, considering the missing adult’s cir15 cumstances and physical and mental condition, the 

16 modes of transportation available to the missing 

17 adult, and the circumstances of the disappearance. 

18 (4) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—The minimum 

19 standards shall include requirements that the miss20 ing person— 

21 (A) suffers from a proven mental or phys22 ical disability, as documented by a source deter23 mined credible to an appropriate law enforce24 ment entity; or 


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1 (B) is missing under circumstances that 

2 indicate, as determined by an appropriate law 

3 enforcement entity— 

4 (i) that the person’s physical safety 

5 may be endangered; or 

6 (ii) that the person’s disappearance 

7 may not have been voluntary, including an 

8 abduction or kidnapping. 

9 (5) PRIVACY AND CIVIL LIBERTIES PROTEC10 TIONS.—The minimum standards shall— 

11 (A) ensure that alerts issued through the 

12 Ashanti Alert communications network comply 

13 with all applicable Federal, State, and local pri14 vacy laws and regulations; and 

15 (B) include standards that specifically pro16 vide for the protection of the civil liberties and 

17 sensitive medical information of missing adults. 

18 (6) STATE AND LOCAL VOLUNTARY COORDINA19 TION.—In carrying out the activities under sub20 section (a), the Coordinator may not interfere with 

21 the current system of voluntary coordination be22 tween local broadcasters and State and local law en23 forcement agencies for purposes of the Ashanti Alert 

24 communications network. 


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1 SEC. 6. TRAINING AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS. 

2 The Coordinator shall make available to States, units 

3 of local government, law enforcement agencies, and other 

4 concerned entities that are involved in initiating, facili5 tating, or promoting Ashanti Alert plans, including broad6 casters, first responders, dispatchers, public safety com7 munications personnel, and radio station personnel— 

8 (1) training and educational programs related 

9 to the Ashanti Alert communications network and 

10 the capabilities, limitations, and anticipated behav11 iors of missing adults, which shall be updated regu12 larly to encourage the use of new tools, technologies, 

13 and resources in Ashanti Alert plans; and 

14 (2) informational materials, including bro15 chures, videos, posters, and web sites to support and 

16 supplement such training and educational programs. 

17 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

18 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Attor19 ney General $3,000,000 to carry out the Ashanti Alert 

20 communications network as authorized under this Act for 

21 each of fiscal years 2019 through 2022. 


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1 SEC. 8. EMERGENCY FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT ASSIST2 ANCE. 

3 Section 609Y(a) of the Justice Assistance Act of 

4 1984 (34 U.S.C. 50112(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘Sep5 tember 30, 2021’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 2022’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives September 25, 

2018. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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