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(124th General Assembly)
(Substitute Senate Bill Number 290)
AN ACT
To enact sections 5502.52 and 5502.521 of the Revised
Code to create the statewide emergency alert
program to aid in the identification and location
of abducted children, to
establish activation
criteria for the implementation of the program,
to
create the AMBER
Alert Advisory Committee,
and
to
declare an emergency.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio:
SECTION 1. That sections 5502.52 and 5502.521 of the Revised
Code be
enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 5502.52. (A) There is hereby created the statewide
emergency
alert program
to aid in the identification and location
of
children who are
under eighteen years of age, who are abducted,
and whose
abduction, as determined by a law enforcement agency,
poses a
credible threat of immediate danger of serious bodily harm
or death to a child. The
program shall be a coordinated effort
among the governor's office, the department of public safety, the
attorney general, law
enforcement agencies, the state's public
and
commercial
television and radio broadcasters, and others as
deemed
necessary by the governor.
(B) The statewide emergency alert program shall not be
implemented
unless all of the following activation criteria are
met:
(1) The local investigating law enforcement agency confirms
that an abduction has occurred. (2) An abducted child is under eighteen years of age.
(3) The abduction poses a credible threat of immediate
danger of serious bodily harm or death to a child. (4) A law enforcement agency determines that the child
is not
a runaway and has not been abducted as a result of a child
custody
dispute, unless the dispute poses a credible threat of immediate
danger of serious bodily harm or death to the child. (5) There is sufficient descriptive information about the
child, the abductor, and the circumstances surrounding the
abduction to indicate that activation of the alert will help
locate the child.
(C) Nothing in division (B) of this section prevents the
activation of a local or regional emergency alert program that may
impose different criteria for the activation of a local or
regional plan.
(D) As used in this section:
(1) "Abducted child" means a child for whom there is
credible evidence to believe that the child has been abducted in
violation of section 2905.01, 2905.02, 2905.03, or 2905.05 of the
Revised Code.
(2) "Law enforcement agency" includes, but is not limited
to, a county sheriff's office, the office of a village
marshal, a
police department of a municipal corporation, a police
force of a
regional transit authority, a police force of a
metropolitan
housing authority, the state highway patrol, a state
university
law enforcement agency, the office of a township police
constable,
and the police department of a township or joint
township police
district.
Sec. 5502.521. (A) There is hereby created the AMBER
alert
advisory committee, consisting of members to be
appointed
by the
governor. The committee shall advise the
governor, the
attorney
general, the department of public safety, and law
enforcement
agencies on an ongoing basis on the implementation,
operation,
improvement, and evaluation of the statewide emergency
alert
program created under section 5502.52 of the Revised Code. (B) Initial appointments to the committee shall be made
within thirty days after the effective date of this section. Terms
of office shall be for two years. Members may be reappointed.
Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as provided for
original appointments. (C) The committee shall include, but not be limited to, the
following: (1) The governor's designee; (2) A representative from the department of public
safety,
representing the emergency management agency; (3) A representative from the department of public safety,
representing the state highway patrol; (4) A representative from the attorney general's
office--missing children clearing house; (5) A representative from the state emergency communications
committee; (6) A representative from the federal bureau of
investigation; (7) A representative from the buckeye state sheriffs
association; (8) A representative from the Ohio association
of chiefs of
police; (9) A broadcast industry designee; (10) A victim or a victim's advocate; (11) A representative from a local or regional AMBER plan; (12) A representative of any other agency or organization as
deemed appropriate by the governor. (D) The governor shall select one member to serve as
chairperson for a two-year
term. (E) The committee may meet periodically to review and
evaluate the operation and effectiveness of the statewide
emergency alert program, develop recommendations for procedures to
improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the program, and work
in a coordinated effort to make recommendations for needed
legislative change. (F) Members of the committee shall serve without
compensation.
SECTION 2. This act is hereby declared to be an emergency
measure necessary for the immediate preservation of the public
peace, health, and safety. The reason for the necessity is that
the expedient creation and development of a statewide emergency
alert program
will deter child abductions and immediately aid in
the recovery of
abducted children. Therefore, this act shall go
into immediate
effect.
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