2023 California Code › Government Code - GOV › TITLE 2 - GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA › DIVISION 1 - GENERAL › CHAPTER 7 - California Emergency Services Act › ARTICLE 6.5 - Accessibility to Emergency Information and Services › Section 8594.13.

8594.13. (a) For purposes of this section, “Feather Alert” means a notification system, activated pursuant to subdivision (b), designed to issue and coordinate alerts with respect to endangered indigenous people, specifically indigenous women or indigenous people, who are reported missing under unexplained or suspicious circumstances.
(b) (1) If a person is reported missing to a law enforcement agency and that agency determines that the requirements of subdivision (c) are met, the law enforcement agency may request the Department of the California Highway Patrol to activate a Feather Alert. If the Department of the California Highway Patrol concurs that the requirements of subdivision (c) have been met, it shall activate a Feather Alert within the appropriate geographical area requested by the investigating law enforcement agency.
(2) Radio, television, cable, satellite, and social media systems are encouraged to, but not required to, cooperate with disseminating the information contained in a Feather Alert.
(3) Upon activation of a Feather Alert, the Department of the California Highway Patrol shall assist the investigating law enforcement agency by issuing a be-on-the-lookout alert, an electronic flyer, or changeable message signs in compliance with paragraph (4).
(4) Upon activation of a Feather Alert, the Department of the California Highway Patrol may use a changeable message sign if both of the following conditions are met:
(A) A law enforcement agency determines that a vehicle may be involved in the missing person incident.
(B) Specific identifying information about the vehicle is available for public dissemination.
(c) A law enforcement agency may request that a Feather Alert be activated if that agency determines that all of the following conditions are met regarding the investigation of a missing person:
(1) The missing person is an indigenous woman or an indigenous person.
(2) The investigating law enforcement agency has utilized available local and tribal resources.
(3) The law enforcement agency determines that the person has gone missing under unexplained or suspicious circumstances.
(4) The law enforcement agency believes that the person is in danger because of age, health, mental or physical disability, or environment or weather conditions, that the person is in the company of a potentially dangerous person, or that there are other factors indicating that the person may be in peril.
(5) There is information available that, if disseminated to the public, could assist in the safe recovery of the missing person.
(d) The Department of the California Highway Patrol shall create and submit a report to the Governor’s office and the Legislature that includes an evaluation of the Feather Alert, including the efficacy, the advantages, and the impact to other alert programs. The Department shall submit the report to the Legislature in compliance with Section 9795 no later than January 1, 2027.
(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 131, Sec. 68. (AB 1754) Effective January 1, 2024.)