Washington State
House of Representatives
Office of Program Research
BILL
ANALYSIS
Community Safety, Justice, & Reentry Committee
HB 1512
Brief Description: Providing tools and resources for the location and recovery of missing persons.
Sponsors: Representatives Mosbrucker, Orwall, Simmons, Jacobsen, Leavitt, Rule, Gregerson, Eslick, Graham, Doglio, Reed and Morgan.
Brief Summary of Bill
  • Requires the the Office of the Attorney General to publish and maintain a Missing Persons Toolkit that contains regularly updated information related to locating and recovering missing persons. 
Hearing Date: 2/7/23
Staff: Corey Patton (786-7388).
Background:

In 2004 the Office of the Attorney General (AGO) convened the Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains Task Force, which developed and published a toolkit containing information and resources related to the process of reporting a missing person. The AGO last updated the toolkit in 2007.

 

In 2022 the state established the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Task Force (MMIWP Task Force) in the AGO and directed the MMIWP Task Force to review the laws and policies pertaining to missing and murdered indigenous people and develop related recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature.

Summary of Bill:

The Office of the Attorney General (AGO) must, subject to appropriation, publish and maintain a Missing Persons Toolkit (Toolkit) that contains regularly updated information related to locating and recovering missing persons.  The Toolkit must contain information and resources to help understand and engage with the process of reporting missing persons including, at minimum, the following:

  • an explanation of how to report a missing person to an applicable law enforcement agency or other entity charged with receiving such reports;
  • an overview of the kinds of information that may be helpful to provide when reporting a missing person;
  • additional steps that may be taken to assist with recovering a missing person after a report has been made;
  • suggestions and resources for navigating difficulties that are commonly encountered during the process of reporting and recovering a missing person, including a list of resources that may offer counseling and assistance to family members, friends, and community members of missing persons;
  • information, developed in consultation with the AGO's Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Task Force, that is specifically tailored to reporting and recovering missing indigenous women and persons; and
  • information that is specifically tailored to reporting and recovering missing persons who are particularly vulnerable due to age, health, or mental or physical disability or condition.


The AGO must publish the Toolkit in the top 10 languages spoken in the state, in the following formats:

  • a full digital version available on the AGO's website; and
  • an abbreviated hard copy version made available to law enforcement agencies and any other relevant entities identified by the AGO, to be distributed by the applicable law enforcement agency or other entity when a person seeks to report a missing person.


The AGO must publish the first version of the Toolkit in both formats by November 1, 2023 and, beginning in 2024, the AGO must review the Toolkit annually and publish an updated version incorporating any relevant changes by November 1 of each year thereafter.

Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Available.
Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the session in which the bill is passed.