An Act To An Act To Establish the Missing Senior or Disabled Citizen Alert Program
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 0769
Committee Amendment CA_A_H196 (House)

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ,A " 
to H.P. 587, L.D. 769, Bill, 
Establish the Missing Senior Citizen Alert Program" 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following: 
"An Act To 
'An Act To Establish the Missing Senior or Disabled Citizen Alert Program' 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the title and before the summary and 
inserting the folIowing: 
'Mandate preamble. This measure requires one or more local units of government 
to expand or modiiY activities so as to necessitate additional expenditures from local 
revenues but does not provide funding for at least 90% of those expenditures. Pursuant to 
the Constitution of Maine, Article IX, Section 21, 2/3 of all of the members elected to 
each House have determined it necessary to enact this measure. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 25 MRSA c. 259 is enacted to read: 
CHAPTER 259 
MISSING SENIOR OR DISABLED CITIZEN ALERT PROGRAM 
§2201. Short title 
This chapter may be known and cited as "the Missing Senior or Disabled Citizen 
Alert Program." 
§2202. Definitions 
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the folIowing terms 
have the folIowing meanings. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "~,, to H.P. 587, L.D. 769 
1. Clearinghouse. "Clearinghouse" means the Missing Senior or Disabled Citizen 
Clearinghouse as established under section 2204. 
2. Commissioner. "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Public Safety. 
3. Department. "Department" means the Department of Public Safety. 
4. 
Disabled. "Disabled" means having a physical or mental impairment that 
substantially limits one or more major life activities. 
5. Health care provider. "Health care provider" means an individual licensed, 
certified or otherwise authorized or permitted by law to provide health care in the 
ordinary course of business or practice of a profession. 
6. Missing senior or disabled citizen. "Missing senior or disabled citizen" means a 
person who is 60 years of age or older and who has an impaired mental condition or a 
person who is disabled and has an impaired mental condition and: 
A. Whose temporary or permanent residence is in or is believed to be in this State; 
B. Whose location is not determined; and 
C. Whose disappearance poses a credible threat to the safety and health of the person 
as determined by a local law enforcement agency. 
§2203. Missing senior or disabled citizen report 
1. Report. A family member, legal guardian, agent under a health care power of 
attorney or health care provider of a missing senior or disabled citizen may submit a good 
faith report that includes information about the missing person's impaired mental 
condition to a local law enforcement agency. 
2. Filing of report. On the filing of a report under subsection 1 by a missing senior 
or disabled citizen's family member, legal guardian, agent under a health care power of 
attorney or health care provider, the law enforcement agency receiving written 
notification shall, using standard operating procedures, immediately: 
A. Notify the department; 
B. Inform all on-duty law enforcement officers in the county where the senior or 
disabled citizen was reported missing of the missing person; 
C. 
Communicate the report to every other law enforcement agency having 
jurisdiction in the county in which the report was filed; 
D. Enter the report under subsection 1 for inclusion in the computer files on missing 
senior or disabled citizens of the department and the National Crime Information 
Center or its successor; and 
E. Submit information in the missing persons report to the clearinghouse. 
3. Alert. When the local law enforcement agency has verified that a senior or 
disabled citizen is missing, the agency shall issue an alert. 
A. The alert must be sent to designated media outlets in the State, participating radio 
stations and television stations, who may issue the alert at designated intervals. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ,,~ .. to H.P. 587, L.D. 769 
B. The alert must include all appropriate information from the local law enforcement 
agency that may assist in the safe recovery of a missing senior or disabled citizen. 
The alert must include a statement instructing anyone with information related to the 
missing senior or disabled citizen to contact that person's local law enforcement 
agency. 
C. The alert is cancelled when the local law enforcement agency has found the 
missing senior or disabled citizen or the department has been notified that the missing 
senior or disabled citizen has been found. 
D. A law enforcement agency that locates a missing senior or disabled citizen who is 
the subject of an alert shall notify the local law enforcement agency and the 
department as soon as possible that the missing senior or disabled citizen has been 
found. 
§2204. Missing Senior or Disabled Citizen Clearinghouse 
1. Establishment; purpose. The Missing Senior or Disabled Citizen Clearinghouse 
is established within the department as a central repository of information regarding 
missing senior or disabled citizens. The clearinghouse must: 
A. 
Facilitate the use of standard processes for intrastate communication of 
information for the purpose of disseminating information related to missing senior or 
disabled citizens who are determined missing by their families, legal guardians, 
agents under a health care power of attorney, health care providers or a law 
enforcement agency; 
B. Provide a centralized file for the exchange of information on missing senior or 
disabled citizens in the State; 
C. Interface with the National Crime Information Center, or its successor, for the 
exchange of information; and 
D. Collect, process, maintain and disseminate information on missing senior or 
disabled citizens and strive to maintain or disseminate accurate and complete 
information. 
2. Receipt of reports. A law enforcement agency shall submit to the clearinghouse 
information received by the law enforcement agency pursuant to section 2203. A family 
member, legal guardian, agent under a health care power of attorney or health care 
provider may submit a missing senior or disabled citizen report to the clearinghouse 
regardless of the circumstances, subsequent to reporting the senior or disabled citizen 
missing to the appropriate law enforcement agency in the county in which the senior or 
disabled citizen became missing. 
The report must be included in the clearinghouse 
database. 
§2205. Location of senior or disabled citizen 
1. Notification. The family member, legal guardian, agent under a health care 
power of attorney or health care provider who is responsible for notifying the 
clearinghouse or a law enforcement agency about a missing senior or disabled citizen 
shall immediately notify the clearinghouse or the agency of a senior or disabled citizen 
whose location has been determined. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ·A .. to H.P. 587, L.D. 769 
2. Purging. Information received about a missing senior or disabled citizen pursuant 
to section 2203 that has been included in the clearinghouse database must be purged from 
the database immediately upon notification that the senior or disabled citizen's location 
has been determined. 
§2206. Rules 
The commissioner shall adopt rules for the implementation of this chapter. Rules 
adopted pursuant to this section are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 
375, subchapter 2-A.' 
SUMMARY 
This a~endment is the minority report of the Joint Standing Committee on Criminal 
Justice and Public Safety and replaces the bill. The amendment expands the missing 
senior citizens alert program created in the bill to include persons with disabilities who 
have impaired mental conditions. The amendment maintains all the features of the 
program as created in the bill, except that the clearinghouse director position is eliminated 
and the list of persons who may submit a missing persons report under the program is 
expanded to include the missing person's agent under a health care power of attorney and 
the person's health care provider. 
The amendment also adds a mandate preamble. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
LD769 
LR 101(02) 
An Act To Establish the Missing Senior Citizen Alert Program 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment ,if " 
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety 
State Mandates 
Required Activity 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
State Mandate - Unfunded 
Requiring local law enforcement agencies to make certain notifications pertaining to 
missing senior or disabled citizens represnts an unfunded state mandate pursuant to 
the Maine Constitution; the cost to local law enforcement agencies is expected to be 
relatively insignificant. 
LROlOl(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1 
Unit Affected 
Municipality 
County 
Costs 
Insignificant