I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5361 

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

United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 31, 2014 

Mr. MURPHY of Florida (for himself and Mr. JOYCE) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To encourage, enhance, and integrate Silver 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 ‘‘National Silver Alert 

5 Act of 2014’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act— 

8 (1) the term ‘‘missing senior’’ means any indi9 vidual 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 senior, as determined by 

5 the State in which the individual is reported or 

6 identified as a missing person; and 

7 (2) the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the 50 

8 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 

9 of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, 

10 Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of 

11 the Northern Mariana Islands. 

12 SEC. 3. SILVER ALERT COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall, sub14 ject to the availability of appropriations, establish a na15 tional Silver Alert communications network within the De16 partment of Justice to provide assistance to regional and 

17 local search efforts for missing seniors through the initi18 ation, facilitation, and promotion of local elements of the 

19 network (known as Silver Alert plans) in coordination with 

20 States, units of local government, law enforcement agen21 cies, and other concerned entities with expertise in pro22 viding services to seniors. 

23 (b) COORDINATION WITH AMBER ALERT NET24 WORK.—In establishing the Silver Alert communications 

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


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1 ensure that, when feasible, the Silver Alert communica2 tions network is able to operate in coordination with the 

3 AMBER Alert communications network, established under 

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

5 5791 et seq.), to maximize the efficiency of both networks. 

6 SEC. 4. SILVER ALERT COORDINATOR. 

7 (a) NATIONAL COORDINATOR WITHIN DEPARTMENT

8 OF JUSTICE.—The Attorney General shall designate an 

9 individual within the Department of Justice to act as the 

10 national coordinator of the Silver Alert communications 

11 network. The individual so designated shall be known as 

12 the Silver Alert Coordinator of the Department of Justice 

13 (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Coordinator’’). 

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

15 national coordinator of the Silver Alert communications 

16 network, the Coordinator shall— 

17 (1) work with States to encourage the develop18 ment of additional Silver Alert plans in the network; 

19 (2) establish voluntary guidelines for States to 

20 use in developing Silver Alert plans that will pro21 mote compatible and integrated Silver Alert plans 

22 throughout the United States, including— 

23 (A) a list of the resources necessary to es24 tablish a Silver Alert plan; 


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1 (B) criteria for evaluating whether a situa2 tion warrants issuing a Silver Alert, taking into 

3 consideration the need for the use of Silver 

4 Alerts to be limited in scope because the effec5 tiveness of the Silver Alert communications net6 work may be affected by overuse, including cri7 teria to determine— 

8 (i) whether the mental capacity of a 

9 senior who is missing, and the cir10 cumstances of the disappearance of the 

11 senior, warrant the issuance of a Silver 

12 Alert; and 

13 (ii) whether the individual who reports 

14 that a senior is missing is an appropriate 

15 and credible source on which to base the 

16 issuance of a Silver Alert; 

17 (C) a description of the appropriate uses of 

18 the Silver Alert name to readily identify the na19 ture of search efforts for missing seniors; and 

20 (D) recommendations on how to protect 

21 the privacy, dignity, independence, and auton22 omy of any missing senior who may be the sub23 ject of a Silver Alert; 

24 (3) develop proposed protocols for efforts to re25 cover missing seniors and to reduce the number of 


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1 seniors who are reported missing, including protocols 

2 for procedures that are needed from the time of ini3 tial notification of a law enforcement agency that a 

4 senior is missing through the time of the return of 

5 the senior to family, guardian, or domicile, as appro6 priate, including— 

7 (A) public safety communications protocol; 

8 (B) case management protocol; 

9 (C) command center operations; 

10 (D) reunification protocol; and 

11 (E) incident review, evaluation, debriefing, 

12 and public information procedures; 

13 (4) work with States to ensure appropriate re14 gional coordination of various elements of the Silver 

15 Alert communications network; 

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

17 units of local government, law enforcement agencies, 

18 and other entities involved in the Silver Alert com19 munications network with initiating, facilitating, and 

20 promoting Silver Alert plans, which shall include— 

21 (A) to the maximum extent practicable, 

22 representation from the various geographic re23 gions of the United States; and 

24 (B) members who are— 


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1 (i) representatives of senior citizen ad2 vocacy groups, law enforcement agencies, 

3 and public safety communications; 

4 (ii) broadcasters, first responders, dis5 patchers, and radio station personnel; and 

6 (iii) representatives of any other indi7 viduals or organizations that the Coordi8 nator determines are necessary to the suc9 cess of the Silver Alert communications 

10 network; and 

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

12 (A) the development of the Silver Alert 

13 communications network; and 

14 (B) regional coordination of alerts for 

15 missing seniors through the Silver Alert com16 munications network. 

17 (c) COORDINATION.— 

18 (1) COORDINATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES.— 

19 The Coordinator shall coordinate and consult with 

20 the Secretary of Transportation, the Federal Com21 munications Commission, the Assistant Secretary for 

22 Aging of the Department of Health and Human 

23 Services, the head of the Missing Alzheimer’s Dis24 ease Patient Alert Program of the Department of 

25 Justice, and other appropriate offices of the DepartVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:13 Aug 14, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5361.IH H5361

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1 ment of Justice in carrying out activities under this 

2 Act. 

3 (2) STATE AND LOCAL COORDINATION.—The 

4 Coordinator shall consult with local broadcasters and 

5 State and local law enforcement agencies in estab6 lishing minimum standards under section 5 and in 

7 carrying out other activities under this Act, as ap8 propriate. 

9 (d) ANNUAL REPORTS.— 

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

11 the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 

12 thereafter, the Coordinator shall submit to Congress 

13 a report on the activities of the Coordinator and the 

14 effectiveness and status of the Silver Alert plans of 

15 each State that has established or is in the process 

16 of establishing such a plan. 

17 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under 

18 paragraph (1) shall include— 

19 (A) a list of States that have established 

20 Silver Alert plans; 

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

22 of establishing Silver Alert plans; 

23 (C) for each State that has established a 

24 Silver Alert plan, to the extent the data is avail25 able— 


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1 (i) the number of Silver Alerts issued; 

2 (ii) the number of individuals located 

3 successfully; 

4 (iii) the average period of time be5 tween the issuance of a Silver Alert and 

6 the location of the individual for whom 

7 such Alert was issued; 

8 (iv) the State agency or authority 

9 issuing Silver Alerts, and the process by 

10 which Silver Alerts are disseminated; 

11 (v) the cost of establishing and oper12 ating the Silver Alert plan; 

13 (vi) the criteria used by the State to 

14 determine whether to issue a Silver Alert; 

15 and 

16 (vii) the extent to which missing indi17 viduals for whom Silver Alerts were issued 

18 crossed State lines; 

19 (D) actions States have taken to protect 

20 the privacy and dignity of the individuals for 

21 whom Silver Alerts are issued; 

22 (E) ways that States have facilitated and 

23 improved communication about missing individ24 uals between families, caregivers, law enforce25 ment officials, and other authorities; and 


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1 (F) any other information the Coordinator 

2 determines to be appropriate. 

3 SEC. 5. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR ISSUANCE AND DIS4 SEMINATION OF ALERTS THROUGH SILVER 

5 ALERT COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF MINIMUM STANDARDS.— 

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

8 minimum standards for— 

9 (1) the issuance of alerts through the Silver 

10 Alert communications network; and 

11 (2) the extent of the dissemination of alerts 

12 issued through the Silver Alert network. 

13 (b) LIMITATIONS.— 

14 (1) VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION.—The min15 imum standards established under subsection (a) of 

16 this section, and any other guidelines and programs 

17 established under section 4, shall be adoptable on a 

18 voluntary basis only. 

19 (2) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—The 

20 minimum standards shall, to the maximum extent 

21 practicable (as determined by the Coordinator in 

22 consultation with State and local law enforcement 

23 agencies), provide that appropriate information re24 lating to the special needs of a missing senior (in25 cluding health care needs) is disseminated to the apVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:13 Aug 14, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5361.IH H5361

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1 propriate law enforcement, public health, and other 

2 public officials. 

3 (3) GEOGRAPHIC AREAS.—The minimum stand4 ards shall, to the maximum extent practicable (as 

5 determined by the Coordinator in consultation with 

6 State and local law enforcement agencies), provide 

7 that the dissemination of an alert through the Silver 

8 Alert communications network be limited to the geo9 graphic areas which the missing senior could reason10 ably reach, considering the circumstances and phys11 ical and mental condition of the missing senior, the 

12 modes of transportation available to the missing sen13 ior, and the circumstances of the disappearance. 

14 (4) AGE REQUIREMENTS.—The minimum 

15 standards shall not include any specific age require16 ment for an individual to be classified as a missing 

17 senior for purposes of the Silver Alert communica18 tion network. Age requirements for determinations 

19 of whether an individual is a missing senior shall be 

20 determined by each State, and may vary from State 

21 to State. 

22 (5) PRIVACY AND CIVIL LIBERTIES PROTEC23 TIONS.—The minimum standards shall— 

24 (A) ensure that alerts issued through the 

25 Silver Alert communications network comply 


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1 with all applicable Federal, State, and local pri2 vacy laws and regulations; and 

3 (B) include standards that specifically pro4 vide for the protection of the civil liberties and 

5 sensitive medical information of missing sen6 iors. 

7 (6) STATE AND LOCAL VOLUNTARY COORDINA8 TION.—In carrying out the activities under sub9 section (a), the Coordinator may not interfere with 

10 the current system of voluntary coordination be11 tween local broadcasters and State and local law en12 forcement agencies for purposes of the Silver Alert 

13 communications network. 

14 SEC. 6. TRAINING AND OTHER RESOURCES. 

15 (a) TRAINING AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS.—The 

16 Coordinator shall make available to States, units of local 

17 government, law enforcement agencies, and other con18 cerned entities that are involved in initiating, facilitating, 

19 or promoting Silver Alert plans, including broadcasters, 

20 first responders, dispatchers, public safety communica21 tions personnel, and radio station personnel— 

22 (1) training and educational programs related 

23 to the Silver Alert communication network and the 

24 capabilities, limitations, and anticipated behaviors of 

25 missing seniors, which shall be updated regularly to 


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1 encourage the use of new tools, technologies, and re2 sources in Silver Alert plans; and 

3 (2) informational materials, including bro4 chures, videos, posters, and web sites to support and 

5 supplement such training and educational programs. 

6 (b) COORDINATION.—The Coordinator shall coordi7 nate— 

8 (1) with the Assistant Secretary for Aging of 

9 the Department of Health and Human Services in 

10 developing the training and educational programs 

11 and materials under subsection (a); and 

12 (2) with the head of the Missing Alzheimer’s 

13 Disease Patient Alert Program of the Department of 

14 Justice to determine if any existing material with re15 spect to training programs or educational materials 

16 developed or used as part of the Missing Alzheimer’s 

17 Disease Patient Alert Program are appropriate and 

18 may be used for the programs under subsection (a). 

19 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE 

20 SILVER ALERT COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK. 

21 There are authorized to be appropriated to the De22 partment of Justice $500,000 to carry out the Silver Alert 

23 communications network as authorized under this Act. 

Æ 


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