I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5075 

To encourage, enhance, and integrate Ashanti Alert plans throughout the 

United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 20, 2018 

Mr. TAYLOR (for himself, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. RASKIN, and Mr. SMITH of 

Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 2018’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

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

9 adult’’ means an individual who— 


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1 (A) is reported to, or identified by, a law 

2 enforcement agency as a missing person; and 

3 (B) meets the requirements to be des4 ignated as a missing adult, 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 Com9 monwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin 

10 Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Common11 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

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

13 Alert’’ means an alert issued through the Ashanti 

14 Alert communications network, related to a missing 

15 adult. 

16 SEC. 3. ASHANTI ALERT COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall, sub18 ject to the availability of appropriations, establish a na19 tional communications network, to be known as the 

20 Ashanti Alert communications network, within the De21 partment of Justice to provide assistance to regional and 

22 local search efforts for missing adults through the initi23 ation, facilitation, and promotion of local elements of the 

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

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


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1 enforcement agencies, and other concerned entities with 

2 expertise in providing services to adults. 

3 (b) COORDINATION WITH AMBER ALERT NET4 WORK.—In establishing the Ashanti Alert communications 

5 network under subsection (a), the Attorney General shall 

6 ensure that, when feasible, the Ashanti Alert communica7 tions network is able to operate in coordination with the 

8 AMBER Alert communications network, established under 

9 subtitle A of title III of the PROTECT Act (42 U.S.C. 

10 5791 et seq.), to maximize the efficiency of both networks. 

11 SEC. 4. ASHANTI ALERT COORDINATOR. 

12 (a) NATIONAL COORDINATOR WITHIN DEPARTMENT

13 OF JUSTICE.—The Attorney General shall designate an 

14 individual of the Department of Justice to act as the na15 tional coordinator of the Ashanti Alert communications 

16 network. The individual so designated shall be known as 

17 the Ashanti Alert Coordinator of the Department of Jus18 tice (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Coordinator’’). 

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

20 national coordinator of the Ashanti Alert communications 

21 network, the Coordinator shall— 

22 (1) work with States to encourage the develop23 ment of additional Ashanti Alert plans in the net24 work; 


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1 (2) establish voluntary guidelines for States to 

2 use in developing Ashanti Alert plans that will pro3 mote compatible and integrated Ashanti Alert plans 

4 throughout the United States, including— 

5 (A) a list of the resources necessary to es6 tablish an Ashanti Alert plan; 

7 (B) criteria for evaluating whether a situa8 tion warrants issuing an Ashanti Alert, taking 

9 into consideration the need for the use of such 

10 Alerts to be limited in scope because the effec11 tiveness of the Ashanti Alert communications 

12 network may be affected by overuse, including 

13 criteria to determine— 

14 (i) whether the mental capacity of an 

15 adult who is missing, and the cir16 cumstances of his or her disappearance, 

17 warrant the issuance of an Ashanti Alert; 

18 and 

19 (ii) whether the individual who reports 

20 that an adult is missing is an appropriate 

21 and credible source on which to base the 

22 issuance of an Ashanti Alert; 

23 (C) a description of the appropriate uses of 

24 the Ashanti Alert name to readily identify the 

25 nature of search efforts for missing adults; and 


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1 (D) recommendations on how to protect 

2 the privacy, dignity, independence, and auton3 omy of any missing adult who may be the sub4 ject of an Ashanti Alert; 

5 (3) develop proposed protocols for efforts to re6 cover missing adults and to reduce the number of 

7 adults who are reported missing, including protocols 

8 for procedures that are needed from the time of ini9 tial notification of a law enforcement agency that 

10 the adult is missing through the time of the return 

11 of the adult to family, guardian, or domicile, as ap12 propriate, including— 

13 (A) public safety communications protocol; 

14 (B) case management protocol; 

15 (C) command center operations; 

16 (D) reunification protocol; and 

17 (E) incident review, evaluation, debriefing, 

18 and public information procedures; 

19 (4) work with States to ensure appropriate re20 gional coordination of various elements of the net21 work; 

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

23 units of local government, law enforcement agencies, 

24 and other entities involved in the Ashanti Alert comVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:27 Feb 27, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5075.IH H5075

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1 munications network with initiating, facilitating, and 

2 promoting Ashanti Alert plans, which shall include— 

3 (A) to the maximum extent practicable, 

4 representation from the various geographic re5 gions of the United States; and 

6 (B) members who are— 

7 (i) representatives of adult citizen ad8 vocacy groups, law enforcement agencies, 

9 and public safety communications; 

10 (ii) broadcasters, first responders, dis11 patchers, and radio station personnel; and 

12 (iii) representatives of any other indi13 viduals or organizations that the Coordi14 nator determines are necessary to the suc15 cess of the Ashanti Alert communications 

16 network; and 

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

18 (A) the development of the network; and 

19 (B) regional coordination of alerts for 

20 missing adults through the network. 

21 (c) COORDINATION.— 

22 (1) COORDINATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES.— 

23 The Coordinator shall coordinate and consult with 

24 the Secretary of Transportation, the Federal Com25 munications Commission, the Assistant Secretary for 


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1 Aging of the Department of Health and Human 

2 Services, and other appropriate offices of the De3 partment of Justice in carrying out activities under 

4 this Act. 

5 (2) STATE AND LOCAL COORDINATION.—The 

6 Coordinator shall consult with local broadcasters and 

7 State and local law enforcement agencies in estab8 lishing minimum standards under section 5 and in 

9 carrying out other activities under this Act, as ap10 propriate. 

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

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

13 thereafter, the Coordinator shall submit to Congress a re14 port on the activities of the Coordinator and the effective15 ness and status of the Ashanti Alert plans of each State 

16 that has established or is in the process of establishing 

17 such a plan. Each such report shall include— 

18 (1) a list of States that have established 

19 Ashanti Alert plans; 

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

21 establishing Ashanti Alert plans; 

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

23 plan, to the extent the data is available— 

24 (A) the number of Ashanti Alerts issued; 


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1 (B) the number of individuals located suc2 cessfully; 

3 (C) the average period of time between the 

4 issuance of an Ashanti Alert and the location of 

5 the individual for whom such Alert was issued; 

6 (D) the State agency or authority issuing 

7 Ashanti Alerts, and the process by which 

8 Ashanti Alerts are disseminated; 

9 (E) the cost of establishing and operating 

10 such a plan; 

11 (F) the criteria used by the State to deter12 mine whether to issue an Ashanti Alert; and 

13 (G) the extent to which missing individuals 

14 for whom Ashanti Alerts were issued crossed 

15 State lines; 

16 (4) actions States have taken to protect the pri17 vacy and dignity of the individuals for whom Ashanti 

18 Alerts are issued; 

19 (5) ways that States have facilitated and im20 proved communication about missing individuals be21 tween families, caregivers, law enforcement officials, 

22 and other authorities; and 

23 (6) any other information the Coordinator de24 termines to be appropriate. 


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1 SEC. 5. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR ISSUANCE AND DIS2 SEMINATION OF ALERTS THROUGH ASHANTI 

3 ALERT COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF MINIMUM STANDARDS.— 

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

6 minimum standards for— 

7 (1) the issuance of alerts through the Ashanti 

8 Alert communications network; and 

9 (2) the extent of the dissemination of alerts 

10 issued through the network. 

11 (b) LIMITATIONS.— 

12 (1) VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION.—The min13 imum standards established under subsection (a) of 

14 this section, and any other guidelines and programs 

15 established under section 4, shall be adoptable on a 

16 voluntary basis only. 

17 (2) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—The 

18 minimum standards shall, to the maximum extent 

19 practicable (as determined by the Coordinator in 

20 consultation with State and local law enforcement 

21 agencies), provide that appropriate information re22 lating to the special needs of a missing adult (in23 cluding health care needs) are disseminated to the 

24 appropriate law enforcement, public health, and 

25 other public officials. 


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1 (3) GEOGRAPHIC AREAS.—The minimum stand2 ards shall, to the maximum extent practicable (as 

3 determined by the Coordinator in consultation with 

4 State and local law enforcement agencies), provide 

5 that the dissemination of an alert through the 

6 Ashanti Alert communications network be limited to 

7 the geographic areas which the missing adult could 

8 reasonably reach, considering the missing adult’s cir9 cumstances and physical and mental condition, the 

10 modes of transportation available to the missing 

11 adult, and the circumstances of the disappearance. 

12 (4) AGE REQUIREMENTS.—The minimum 

13 standards shall not include any specific age require14 ment for an individual to be classified as a missing 

15 adult for purposes of the Ashanti Alert communica16 tions network. Age requirements for determinations 

17 of whether an individual is a missing adult shall be 

18 determined by each State, and may vary from State 

19 to State. 

20 (5) PRIVACY AND CIVIL LIBERTIES PROTEC21 TIONS.—The minimum standards shall— 

22 (A) ensure that alerts issued through the 

23 Ashanti Alert communications network comply 

24 with all applicable Federal, State, and local pri25 vacy laws and regulations; and 


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1 (B) include standards that specifically pro2 vide for the protection of the civil liberties and 

3 sensitive medical information of missing adults. 

4 (6) STATE AND LOCAL VOLUNTARY COORDINA5 TION.—In carrying out the activities under sub6 section (a), the Coordinator may not interfere with 

7 the current system of voluntary coordination be8 tween local broadcasters and State and local law en9 forcement agencies for purposes of the Ashanti Alert 

10 communications network. 

11 SEC. 6. TRAINING AND OTHER RESOURCES. 

12 (a) TRAINING AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS.—The 

13 Coordinator shall make available to States, units of local 

14 government, law enforcement agencies, and other con15 cerned entities that are involved in initiating, facilitating, 

16 or promoting Ashanti Alert plans, including broadcasters, 

17 first responders, dispatchers, public safety communica18 tions personnel, and radio station personnel— 

19 (1) training and educational programs related 

20 to the Ashanti Alert communications network and 

21 the capabilities, limitations, and anticipated behav22 iors of missing adults, which shall be updated regu23 larly to encourage the use of new tools, technologies, 

24 and resources in Ashanti Alert plans; and 


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1 (2) informational materials, including bro2 chures, videos, posters, and web sites to support and 

3 supplement such training and educational programs. 

4 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE 

5 ASHANTI ALERT COMMUNICATIONS NET6 WORK. 

7 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Attor8 ney General $500,000 to carry out the Ashanti Alert com9 munications network as authorized under this Act. 

Æ 


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