II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2211 

To establish a national endangered missing advisory communications network, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 7, 2017 

Mr. MANCHIN (for himself, Mr. CASEY, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. 

TILLIS, and Ms. COLLINS) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To establish a national endangered missing advisory 

communications network, 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 ‘‘Skylar’s Law’’. 

5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this Act: 

7 (1) COORDINATOR.—The term ‘‘Coordinator’’ 

8 means the EMA Network Coordinator designated 

9 under section 4(a). 


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1 (2) EMA NETWORK.—The term ‘‘EMA Net2 work’’ means the national endangered missing advi3 sory communications network established under sub4 section (a). 

5 (3) MISSING INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘missing 

6 individual’’ refers to any individual who— 

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

8 enforcement agency as a missing person; and 

9 (B) may be in danger of death or serious 

10 bodily injury. 

11 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

12 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, each Indian 

13 tribe (as defined in section 4(e) of the Indian Self14 Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 

15 U.S.C. 5304(e))), the Commonwealth of Puerto 

16 Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, 

17 American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the 

18 Northern Mariana Islands. 

19 SEC. 3. NATIONAL ENDANGERED MISSING ADVISORY COM20 MUNICATIONS NETWORK. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall, sub22 ject to the availability of appropriations, establish a na23 tional endangered missing advisory communications net24 work within the Department of Justice to provide assist25 ance to regional and local search efforts for missing indiVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Dec 13, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2211.IS S2211

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1 viduals through the initiation, facilitation, and promotion 

2 of local elements of the network (known as ‘‘EMA plans’’) 

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

4 enforcement agencies, and other concerned entities with 

5 expertise in providing services to families of missing indi6 viduals. 

7 (b) COORDINATION WITH AMBER ALERT NET8 WORK.—In establishing the EMA Network under sub9 section (a), the Attorney General shall ensure that, when 

10 feasible, the EMA Network is able to operate in coordina11 tion with the AMBER Alert communications network, es12 tablished under subtitle A of title III of the PROTECT 

13 Act (34 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.), to maximize the efficiency 

14 of both networks. 

15 SEC. 4. EMA NETWORK COORDINATOR. 

16 (a) NATIONAL COORDINATOR WITHIN DEPARTMENT

17 OF JUSTICE.—The Attorney General shall designate an 

18 individual of the Department of Justice to act as the na19 tional coordinator of the EMA Network. The individual 

20 so designated shall be known as the EMA Network Coordi21 nator of the Department of Justice. 

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

23 national coordinator of the EMA Network, the Coordi24 nator shall— 


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1 (1) work with States to encourage the develop2 ment of additional EMA plans in the network; 

3 (2) establish voluntary guidelines for States to 

4 use in developing EMA plans that will promote com5 patible and integrated EMA plans throughout the 

6 United States, including— 

7 (A) a list of the resources necessary to es8 tablish an EMA plan; 

9 (B) criteria for evaluating whether a situa10 tion warrants issuing an endangered missing 

11 advisory, taking into consideration both the 

12 need for immediate community notification and 

13 the need for the use of such advisories to be 

14 limited in scope because the effectiveness of the 

15 EMA Network may be affected by overuse, in16 cluding criteria to determine— 

17 (i) whether the circumstances sur18 rounding the disappearance of an indi19 vidual warrant the issuance of an endan20 gered missing advisory; and 

21 (ii) whether the individual who reports 

22 that an individual is missing is an appro23 priate and credible source on which to base 

24 the issuance of an endangered missing ad25 visory; 


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1 (C) a description of the appropriate uses of 

2 the EMA Network name to readily identify the 

3 nature of search efforts for missing individuals; 

4 and 

5 (D) recommendations on how to protect 

6 the privacy, dignity, independence, and auton7 omy of any missing individual who may be the 

8 subject of an endangered missing advisory; 

9 (3) work with States to ensure appropriate re10 gional coordination of various elements of the net11 work; 

12 (4) establish an advisory group to assist States, 

13 units of local government, law enforcement agencies, 

14 and other entities involved in the EMA Network 

15 with initiating, facilitating, and promoting EMA 

16 plans, which shall include— 

17 (A) to the maximum extent practicable, 

18 representation from the various geographic re19 gions of the United States; and 

20 (B) members who are— 

21 (i) representatives of missing indi22 vidual advocacy groups, law enforcement 

23 agencies, and public safety communica24 tions; 


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1 (ii) broadcasters, first responders, dis2 patchers, and radio station personnel; and 

3 (iii) representatives of any other indi4 viduals or organizations that the Coordi5 nator determines are necessary to the suc6 cess of the EMA Network; and 

7 (5) act as the nationwide point of contact for— 

8 (A) the development of the network; and 

9 (B) regional coordination of alerts for 

10 missing individuals through the network. 

11 (c) COORDINATION.— 

12 (1) COORDINATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES.— 

13 The Coordinator shall coordinate and consult with 

14 the Secretary of Transportation, the Federal Com15 munications Commission, and other appropriate of16 fices of the Department of Justice in carrying out 

17 activities under this Act. 

18 (2) STATE AND LOCAL COORDINATION.—The 

19 Coordinator shall consult with local broadcasters and 

20 State and local law enforcement agencies in estab21 lishing minimum standards under section 5 and in 

22 carrying out other activities under this Act, as ap23 propriate. 

24 (d) ANNUAL REPORTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 

3 thereafter, the Coordinator shall submit to Congress 

4 a report on the activities of the Coordinator and the 

5 effectiveness and status of the EMA plans of each 

6 State that has established or is in the process of es7 tablishing EMA plans. 

8 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under 

9 paragraph (2) shall include— 

10 (A) a list of States that have established 

11 EMA plans; 

12 (B) a list of States that are in the process 

13 of establishing EMA plans; 

14 (C) for each State that has established 

15 EMA plans, to the extent the data is avail16 able— 

17 (i) the number of endangered missing 

18 advisories issued; 

19 (ii) the number of individuals located 

20 successfully; 

21 (iii) the average period of time be22 tween the issuance of an endangered miss23 ing advisory and the location of the indi24 vidual for whom such advisory was issued; 


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1 (iv) the State agency or authority 

2 issuing endangered missing advisories, and 

3 the process by which endangered missing 

4 advisories are disseminated; 

5 (v) the cost of establishing and oper6 ating such EMA plans; 

7 (vi) the criteria used by the State to 

8 determine whether to issue an endangered 

9 missing advisory; and 

10 (vii) the extent to which missing indi11 viduals for whom endangered missing 

12 advisories were issued crossed State lines; 

13 (D) actions States have taken to protect 

14 the privacy and dignity of the individuals for 

15 whom endangered missing advisories are issued; 

16 (E) ways that States have facilitated and 

17 improved communication about missing individ18 uals between families, caregivers, law enforce19 ment officials, and other authorities; and 

20 (F) any other information the Coordinator 

21 determines to be appropriate. 


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1 SEC. 5. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR ISSUANCE AND DIS2 SEMINATION OF ALERTS THROUGH EMA NET3 WORK. 

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 EMA 

8 Network; and 

9 (2) the extent of the dissemination of alerts 

10 issued through the EMA 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 individual 

23 (including 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 EMA 

6 Network be limited to the geographic areas which 

7 the missing individual could reasonably reach, con8 sidering the missing individual’s circumstances and 

9 physical and mental condition, the modes of trans10 portation available to the missing individual, and the 

11 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 individual for purposes of the EMA Network. 

16 (5) PRIVACY AND CIVIL LIBERTIES PROTEC17 TIONS.—The minimum standards shall— 

18 (A) ensure that alerts issued through the 

19 EMA Network comply with all applicable Fed20 eral, State, and local privacy laws and regula21 tions; and 

22 (B) include standards that specifically pro23 vide for the protection of the civil liberties and 

24 sensitive medical information of missing individ25 uals. 


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1 (6) STATE AND LOCAL VOLUNTARY COORDINA2 TION.—In carrying out the activities under sub3 section (a), the Coordinator may not interfere with 

4 the current system of voluntary coordination be5 tween local broadcasters and State and local law en6 forcement agencies for purposes of the EMA Net7 work. 

8 SEC. 6. TRAINING AND OTHER RESOURCES. 

9 The Coordinator shall make available to States, units 

10 of local government, law enforcement agencies, and other 

11 concerned entities that are involved in initiating, facili12 tating, or promoting EMA plans, including broadcasters, 

13 first responders, dispatchers, public safety communica14 tions personnel, and radio station personnel— 

15 (1) training and educational programs related 

16 to the EMA Network and the capabilities, limita17 tions, and anticipated behaviors of missing individ18 uals, which shall be updated regularly to encourage 

19 the use of new tools, technologies, and resources in 

20 EMA plans; and 

21 (2) informational materials, including bro22 chures, videos, posters, and web sites to support and 

23 supplement such training and educational programs. 


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1 SEC. 7. USE OF AMOUNTS PREVIOUSLY APPROPRIATED. 

2 This Act shall be carried out using amounts appro3 priated to the Department of Justice to carry out the 

4 Missing and Exploited Children Program, including 

5 amounts appropriated to carry out the Missing Children’s 

6 Assistance Act (34 U.S.C. 11291 et seq.), the PROTECT 

7 Act (Public Law 108–21; 117 Stat. 650), and the Victims 

8 of Child Abuse Act of 1990 (34 U.S.C. 20301 et seq.). 

9 No additional amounts are authorized to be appropriated 

10 to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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