Rep. Sandra M. Pihos

Filed: 3/3/2009

 

 


 

 


 
09600HB0772ham001 LRB096 05691 RLJ 22831 a

1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 772

2     AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 772 by replacing
3 everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4     "Section 5. The Department of State Police Law of the Civil
5 Administrative Code of Illinois is amended by adding Section
6 2605-485 as follows:
 
7     (20 ILCS 2605/2605-485 new)
8     Sec. 2605-485. Silver Alert program; Silver Alert
9 Coordinator.
10     (a) A coordinated program known as the Silver Alert System
11 is established within the Department of State Police. The
12 purpose of the Silver Alert System is to provide a regional
13 system for the rapid dissemination of information regarding a
14 missing person who is believed to be suffering from dementia or
15 a similar cognitive impairment.
16     (b) If the Department of State Police receives a report

 

 

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1 that involves a missing person who is believed to be suffering
2 from dementia or a similar cognitive impairment, for the
3 protection of the missing person from potential abuse or other
4 physical harm, neglect, or exploitation, the Department of
5 State Police shall issue an alert providing for the rapid
6 dissemination of information within the region where the
7 missing person was last seen regarding the missing person. The
8 Department of State Police shall make every effort to
9 disseminate the information as quickly as possible when (i) the
10 missing person is at least 55 years old or the missing person
11 is less than 55 years old and a law enforcement officer
12 determines that an alert is necessary and (ii) the person's
13 status as missing has been reported to a law enforcement
14 agency.
15     (c) The Department of State Police shall adopt guidelines
16 and develop procedures for issuing an alert for missing persons
17 believed to be suffering from dementia or a similar cognitive
18 impairment. The Department of State Police, in coordination
19 with the Illinois Department on Aging, shall develop and
20 implement a community outreach program to promote awareness
21 among the State's healthcare facilities, nursing homes,
22 assisted living facilities, and other senior centers. The
23 guidelines and procedures shall ensure that specific health
24 information about the missing person is not made public through
25 the alert or otherwise.
26     (d) The Department of State Police, in consultation with

 

 

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1 the Illinois Department of Transportation, shall develop a
2 procedure for the use of electronic message signs on roads and
3 highways to provide information on a missing person that meets
4 the criteria provided under this Section. The system may
5 include, but is not limited to, the use of Illinois Department
6 of Transportation electronic message signs to immediately
7 provide critical information to the public.
8     (e) The Department of State Police shall appoint a Silver
9 Alert Coordinator to assist in the establishment of State
10 standards and to monitor the availability of federal funding
11 that may become available to further the objectives of the
12 Silver Alert System. The Silver Alert Coordinator shall have
13 the qualifications and experience that the Department of State
14 Police shall require by rule. The Silver Alert Coordinator
15 shall receive no compensation but shall be reimbursed for his
16 or her expenses from the Department's operations budget. No
17 funds shall be appropriated solely for the expenses of the
18 Silver Alert Coordinator. The Department may in its discretion
19 have the Child Safety Coordinator, created under Section
20 2605-480 of the Department of State Police Law, act in the dual
21 capacity of Child Safety Coordinator and Silver Alert
22 Coordinator. The Department shall provide technical assistance
23 for the Silver Alert Coordinator from its existing resources.
24     (f) The Department shall establish a Silver Alert System
25 Task Force to monitor and review the implementation and
26 operation of the system developed under subsection (a),

 

 

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1 including procedures, budgetary requirements, and response
2 protocols. The Task Force shall also develop additional network
3 resources for use in the system. The Department of State Police
4 may in its discretion have the AMBER Plan Task Force,
5 established under Section 2605-480 of the Department of State
6 Police Law, serve in a dual capacity as the Silver Alert System
7 Task Force.
8     (g) Any person who intentionally or knowingly files a false
9 report that a missing person is believed to be suffering from
10 dementia or a similar cognitive impairment is guilty of a Class
11 C misdemeanor.
 
12     Section 10. The Department of Transportation Law of the
13 Civil Administrative Code of Illinois is amended by changing
14 Section 2705-505.5 as follows:
 
15     (20 ILCS 2705/2705-505.5)
16     Sec. 2705-505.5. Child abduction and silver alert message
17 signs. The Department of Transportation shall coordinate with
18 the Department of State Police in the use of electronic message
19 signs on roads and highways in the vicinity of a child
20 abduction, or near the location where a person believed to be
21 suffering from dementia or a similar cognitive impairment was
22 last seen, as provided under Section 2605-485 of the Department
23 of State Police Law, to immediately provide critical
24 information to the public.

 

 

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1 (Source: P.A. 93-310, eff. 7-23-03.)
 
2     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
3 becoming law.".