In the Senate of the United States, 

December 6, 2018. 

Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 5075) entitled ‘‘An Act to encourage, enhance, 

and integrate Ashanti Alert plans throughout the United 

States, and for other purposes.’’, do pass with the following 

AMENDMENT: 

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 

following: 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

3 2018’’. 

4 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF ASHANTI ALERT COMMUNICA5 TIONS NETWORK. 

6 Kristen’s Act (Public Law 106–468; 114 Stat. 2027) 

7 is amended— 

8 (1) by inserting before section 2 (34 U.S.C. 

9 40504) the following: 
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1 ‘‘TITLE I—GRANTS’’; 

2 (2) by redesignating sections 2 (34 U.S.C. 

3 40504) and 3 (34 U.S.C. 40504 note) as sections 101 

4 and 102, respectively; 

5 (3) in section 101(b), as so redesignated, by 

6 striking ‘‘this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘this title’’; 

7 (4) in section 102, as so redesignated, by striking 

8 ‘‘this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘this title’’; and 

9 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘TITLE II—ASHANTI ALERT 

11 COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK 

12 ‘‘SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

13 ‘‘In this title: 

14 ‘‘(1) AMBER ALERT COMMUNICATIONS NET15 WORK.—The term ‘AMBER Alert communications 

16 network’ means the AMBER Alert communications 

17 network established under subtitle A of title III of the 

18 PROTECT Act (34 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.). 

19 ‘‘(2) ASHANTI ALERT.—The term ‘Ashanti Alert’ 

20 means an alert issued through the Ashanti Alert com21 munications network, related to a missing adult. 

22 ‘‘(3) ASHANTI ALERT COMMUNICATIONS NET23 WORK.—The term ‘Ashanti Alert communications net24 work’ means the national communications network es-
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1 tablished by the Attorney General under section 

2 202(a). 

3 ‘‘(4) ASHANTI ALERT COORDINATOR OF THE DE4 PARTMENT OF JUSTICE; COORDINATOR.—The term 

5 ‘Ashanti Alert Coordinator of the Department of Jus6 tice’ or ‘Coordinator’ means the employee designated 

7 by the Attorney General to act as the national coordi8 nator of the Ashanti Alert communications network 

9 under section 203(a). 

10 ‘‘(5) ASHANTI ALERT PLAN.—The term ‘Ashanti 

11 Alert plan’ means a local element of the Ashanti Alert 

12 communications network. 

13 ‘‘(6) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian Tribe’ 

14 means a federally recognized Indian Tribe or a Na15 tive village, Regional Corporation, or Village Cor16 poration (as those terms are defined in section 3 of 

17 the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 

18 1602)). 

19 ‘‘(7) MISSING ADULT.—The term ‘missing adult’ 

20 means an individual who— 

21 ‘‘(A) is older than the age for which an 

22 alert may be issued through the AMBER Alert 

23 communications network in the State or terri24 tory of an Indian Tribe in which the individual 

25 is identified as a missing individual; 
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1 ‘‘(B) is identified by a law enforcement 

2 agency as a missing individual; and 

3 ‘‘(C) meets the requirements to be des4 ignated as a missing adult, as determined by the 

5 State in which, or the Indian Tribe in the terri6 tory of which, the individual is identified as a 

7 missing individual. 

8 ‘‘(8) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of the 

9 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Common10 wealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Is11 lands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Common12 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 202. ASHANTI ALERT COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK. 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall, sub15 ject to the availability of appropriations, establish a na16 tional communications network within the Office of Justice 

17 Programs of the Department of Justice to provide assistance 

18 to regional and local search efforts for missing adults 

19 through the initiation, facilitation, and promotion of local 

20 elements of the network, in coordination with States, Indian 

21 Tribes, units of local government, law enforcement agencies, 

22 and other concerned entities with expertise in providing 

23 services to adults. 

24 ‘‘(b) INTEGRATION WITH EXISTING COMMUNICATIONS

25 NETWORK.—In establishing the Ashanti Alert communica-
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1 tions network under subsection (a), the Attorney General 

2 shall coordinate, when advisable, with missing person alert 

3 systems in existence as of the date of enactment of this title, 

4 such as the AMBER Alert communications network and 

5 Silver Alert communications networks. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 203. ASHANTI ALERT COORDINATOR. 

7 ‘‘(a) NATIONAL COORDINATOR WITHIN DEPARTMENT

8 OF JUSTICE.—The Attorney General shall designate an em9 ployee of the Office of Justice Programs of the Department 

10 of Justice to act as the national coordinator of the Ashanti 

11 Alert communications network. 

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

13 national coordinator of the Ashanti Alert communications 

14 network, the Coordinator shall— 

15 ‘‘(1) work with States and Indian Tribes to en16 courage the development of additional Ashanti Alert 

17 plans in the network; 

18 ‘‘(2) establish voluntary guidelines for States 

19 and Indian Tribes to use in developing Ashanti Alert 

20 plans that will promote compatible and integrated 

21 Ashanti Alert plans throughout the United States, in22 cluding— 

23 ‘‘(A) a list of the resources necessary to es24 tablish an Ashanti Alert plan; 
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1 ‘‘(B) criteria for evaluating whether a situ2 ation warrants issuing an Ashanti Alert, taking 

3 into consideration the need for the use of Ashanti 

4 Alerts to be limited in scope because the effective5 ness of the Ashanti Alert communications net6 work may be affected by overuse, including cri7 teria to determine— 

8 ‘‘(i) whether the mental capacity of an 

9 adult who is missing, and the circumstances 

10 of his or her disappearance, including any 

11 history of domestic violence, sexual assault, 

12 child abuse, or human trafficking, warrant 

13 the issuance of an Ashanti Alert; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) whether the individual who re15 ports that an adult is missing is an appro16 priate and credible source on which to base 

17 the issuance of an Ashanti Alert; 

18 ‘‘(C) a description of the appropriate uses of 

19 the Ashanti Alert name to readily identify the 

20 nature of search efforts for missing adults; and 

21 ‘‘(D) recommendations on how to protect the 

22 privacy, dignity, independence, autonomy, and 

23 safety of any missing adult who may be the sub24 ject of an Ashanti Alert; 
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1 ‘‘(3) develop proposed protocols for efforts to re2 cover missing adults and to reduce the number of 

3 adults who are reported missing, including protocols 

4 for procedures that are needed from the time of initial 

5 notification of a law enforcement agency that the 

6 adult is missing through the time of the return of the 

7 adult to family, guardian, or domicile, as appro8 priate, including— 

9 ‘‘(A) public safety communications protocol; 

10 ‘‘(B) case management protocol; 

11 ‘‘(C) command center operations; 

12 ‘‘(D) reunification protocol; 

13 ‘‘(E) incident review, evaluation, debriefing, 

14 and public information procedures; and 

15 ‘‘(F) protocols for declining to issue an 

16 Ashanti Alert; 

17 ‘‘(4) work with States and Indian Tribes to en18 sure appropriate regional coordination of various ele19 ments of the network; 

20 ‘‘(5) establish an advisory group to assist States, 

21 Indian Tribes, units of local government, law enforce22 ment agencies, and other entities involved in the 

23 Ashanti Alert communications network with initi24 ating, facilitating, and promoting Ashanti Alert 

25 plans, which shall include— 
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1 ‘‘(A) to the maximum extent practicable, 

2 representation from the various geographic re3 gions of the United States; and 

4 ‘‘(B) members who are— 

5 ‘‘(i) representatives of adult citizen ad6 vocacy groups, law enforcement agencies, 

7 victim service providers (as defined in sec8 tion 40002(a) of the Violence Against 

9 Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291(a)), 

10 and public safety communications; 

11 ‘‘(ii) broadcasters, first responders, dis12 patchers, and radio station personnel; and 

13 ‘‘(iii) representatives of any other indi14 viduals or organizations that the Coordi15 nator determines are necessary to the suc16 cess of the Ashanti Alert communications 

17 network; and 

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

19 ‘‘(A) the development of the network; and 

20 ‘‘(B) regional coordination of alerts for 

21 missing adults through the network. 

22 ‘‘(c) COORDINATION.— 

23 ‘‘(1) COORDINATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES.— 

24 The Coordinator shall coordinate and consult with the 

25 Secretary of Transportation, the Federal Communica-
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1 tions Commission, the Assistant Secretary for Aging 

2 of the Department of Health and Human Services, 

3 and other appropriate offices of the Department of 

4 Justice, including the Office on Violence Against 

5 Women, in carrying out activities under this title. 

6 ‘‘(2) STATE, TRIBAL, AND LOCAL COORDINA7 TION.—The Coordinator shall consult with local 

8 broadcasters and State, Tribal, and local law enforce9 ment agencies in establishing minimum standards 

10 under section 204 and in carrying out other activities 

11 under this title, as appropriate. 

12 ‘‘(d) ANNUAL REPORTS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

14 the date of enactment of this title, and annually 

15 thereafter, the Coordinator shall submit to Congress a 

16 report on— 

17 ‘‘(A) the activities of the Coordinator; and 

18 ‘‘(B) the effectiveness and status of the 

19 Ashanti Alert plan of each State or Indian Tribe 

20 that has established or is in the process of estab21 lishing such a plan. 

22 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each report under paragraph 

23 (1) shall include— 

24 ‘‘(A) a list of each State or Indian Tribe 

25 that has established an Ashanti Alert plan; 
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1 ‘‘(B) a list of each State or Indian Tribe 

2 that is in the process of establishing an Ashanti 

3 Alert plan; 

4 ‘‘(C) for each State or Indian Tribe that 

5 has established an Ashanti Alert plan, to the ex6 tent the data is available— 

7 ‘‘(i) the number of Ashanti Alerts 

8 issued; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the number of missing adults lo10 cated successfully; 

11 ‘‘(iii) the average period of time be12 tween the issuance of an Ashanti Alert and 

13 the location of the missing adult for whom 

14 the Alert was issued; 

15 ‘‘(iv) the State or Tribal agency or au16 thority issuing Ashanti Alerts, and the 

17 process by which Ashanti Alerts are dis18 seminated; 

19 ‘‘(v) the cost of establishing and oper20 ating the Ashanti Alert plan; 

21 ‘‘(vi) the criteria used by the State or 

22 Indian Tribe to determine whether to issue 

23 an Ashanti Alert; and 

24 ‘‘(vii) the extent to which missing 

25 adults for whom Ashanti Alerts were issued 
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1 crossed State lines or territorial borders of 

2 an Indian Tribe; 

3 ‘‘(D) actions States and Indian Tribes have 

4 taken to protect the privacy and dignity of the 

5 missing adults for whom Ashanti Alerts are 

6 issued; 

7 ‘‘(E) ways that States and Indian Tribes 

8 have facilitated and improved communication 

9 about missing adults between families, care10 givers, law enforcement officials, and other au11 thorities; and 

12 ‘‘(F) any other information the Coordinator 

13 determines to be appropriate. 

14 ‘‘SEC. 204. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR ISSUANCE AND DIS15 SEMINATION OF ALERTS THROUGH ASHANTI 

16 ALERT COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK. 

17 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF MINIMUM STANDARDS.— 

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

19 minimum standards for— 

20 ‘‘(1) the issuance of alerts through the Ashanti 

21 Alert communications network; and 

22 ‘‘(2) the extent of the dissemination of alerts 

23 issued through the Ashanti Alert communications net24 work. 

25 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.— 
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1 ‘‘(1) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—The 

2 minimum standards established under subsection (a) 

3 shall, to the maximum extent practicable (as deter4 mined by the Coordinator in consultation with State, 

5 Tribal, and local law enforcement agencies), provide 

6 for the dissemination of appropriate information re7 lating to the special needs of a missing adult (includ8 ing health care needs) to the appropriate law enforce9 ment, public health, and other public officials. 

10 ‘‘(2) GEOGRAPHIC AREAS.—The minimum 

11 standards established under subsection (a) shall, to 

12 the maximum extent practicable (as determined by 

13 the Coordinator in consultation with State, Tribal, 

14 and local law enforcement agencies), provide that the 

15 dissemination of an alert through the Ashanti Alert 

16 communications network shall be limited to the geo17 graphic areas that the missing adult could reasonably 

18 reach, considering— 

19 ‘‘(A) the circumstances and physical and 

20 mental condition of the missing adult; 

21 ‘‘(B) the modes of transportation available 

22 to the missing adult; and 

23 ‘‘(C) the circumstances of the disappear24 ance. 
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1 ‘‘(3) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—The minimum 

2 standards established under subsection (a) shall re3 quire that, in order for an Ashanti Alert to be issued 

4 for a missing adult, the missing adult— 

5 ‘‘(A) suffers from a proven mental or phys6 ical disability, as documented by a source deter7 mined credible by an appropriate law enforce8 ment agency; or 

9 ‘‘(B) be missing under circumstances that 

10 indicate, as determined by an appropriate law 

11 enforcement agency— 

12 ‘‘(i) that the physical safety of the 

13 missing adult may be endangered; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) that the disappearance of the 

15 missing adult may not have been voluntary, 

16 including an abduction or kidnapping. 

17 ‘‘(4) SAFETY, PRIVACY, AND CIVIL LIBERTIES

18 PROTECTIONS.—The minimum standards established 

19 under subsection (a) shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) ensure that alerts issued through the 

21 Ashanti Alert communications network comply 

22 with all applicable Federal, State, Tribal, and 

23 local privacy laws and regulations; 

24 ‘‘(B) include standards that specifically 

25 provide for the protection of the civil liberties 
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1 and sensitive medical information of missing 

2 adults; and 

3 ‘‘(C) include standards requiring, as appro4 priate, a review of relevant court records, prior 

5 contacts with law enforcement, and other infor6 mation relevant to the missing adult or the indi7 vidual reporting, in order to provide protections 

8 against domestic violence. 

9 ‘‘(5) STATE, TRIBAL, AND LOCAL VOLUNTARY CO10 ORDINATION.—In establishing minimum standards 

11 under subsection (a), the Coordinator may not inter12 fere with the system of voluntary coordination be13 tween local broadcasters and State, Tribal, and local 

14 law enforcement agencies for purposes of regional and 

15 local search efforts for missing adults that was in ef16 fect on the day before the date of enactment of this 

17 title. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 205. VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION. 

19 ‘‘The minimum standards established under section 

20 204(a), and any other guidelines and programs established 

21 under section 203, shall be adoptable on a voluntary basis 

22 only. 

23 ‘‘SEC. 206. TRAINING AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS. 

24 ‘‘The Coordinator shall make available to States, In25 dian Tribes, units of local government, law enforcement 
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1 agencies, and other concerned entities that are involved in 

2 initiating, facilitating, or promoting Ashanti Alert plans, 

3 including broadcasters, first responders, dispatchers, public 

4 safety communications personnel, and radio station per5 sonnel— 

6 ‘‘(1) training and educational programs related 

7 to the Ashanti Alert communications network and the 

8 capabilities, limitations, and anticipated behaviors of 

9 missing adults, which the Coordinator shall update 

10 regularly to encourage the use of new tools, tech11 nologies, and resources in Ashanti Alert plans; and 

12 ‘‘(2) informational materials, including bro13 chures, videos, posters, and websites to support and 

14 supplement the training and educational programs 

15 described in paragraph (1). 

16 ‘‘SEC. 207. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 ‘‘There is authorized to be appropriated to the Attor18 ney General $3,000,000 to carry out the Ashanti Alert com19 munications network as authorized under this title for each 

20 of fiscal years 2019 through 2022.’’. 
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1 SEC. 3. EMERGENCY FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT ASSIST2 ANCE. 

3 Section 609Y(a) of the Justice Assistance Act of 1984 

4 (34 U.S.C. 50112(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘September 

5 30, 2021’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 2022’’. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H.R. 5075 

AMENDMENT