S-307                 _______________________________________________

                                                   SENATE BILL NO. 3247

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              49th Legislature                              1985 Regular Session

By Senators Bluechel, Newhouse, Metcalf, Benitz, McCaslin, Saling, Johnson, Deccio, Barr, Hayner, Craswell and McDonald

Read first time 1/22/85 and referred to Committee on Judiciary.

AN ACT Relating to missing children; adding a new section to chapter 28A.03 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 43.43 RCW; and making appropriations.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 43.43 RCW to read as follows:

          (1) The missing child information center is established within the Washington state patrol and shall function under the direction of the chief of the Washington state patrol.  The center shall serve as a central repository of and clearinghouse for information about Washington children under the age of eighteen believed to be missing and missing children from other states believed to be in Washington.

          (2) The center shall utilize either existing or other data processing to enable the immediate retrieval of the following information about the missing child:  Name, date of birth, social security number, fingerprint classification, relevant physical descriptions, and known associates and locations.  Access to information about the child should be retrievable if any one of these factors are known.

          (3) Access to information from the data banks of the center shall be limited to law enforcement agencies.  However a parent or legal guardian may request information regarding the parent's or legal guardian's child.

          (4) The Washington state patrol, through the center, shall regularly issue emergency flyers containing physical and situational descriptions of missing children when requested by a law enforcement agency and as the state patrol deems necessary.  A list of missing children believed to be within the state shall be kept, updated regularly, and transmitted to the superintendent of public instruction at regular intervals.

          (5) The Washington state patrol shall report to the legislature by January 15 of each year on the number of missing children and make recommendations on methods of improving the operations of the center.

          (6) The chief of the Washington state patrol may adopt rules  under chapter 34.04 RCW as necessary to carry out this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 43.43 RCW to read as follows:

          The sheriff or director of public safety of every county, the chief of police of every city or town, and every chief officer of other law enforcement agencies operating within the state shall cause reports of missing children to be investigated, transmit information to the missing children information center and cooperate with the center, and enter information on missing children in the national crime information center computer.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.  A new section is added to chapter 28A.03 RCW to read as follows:

          The superintendent of public instruction shall distribute copies of the lists of missing children received from the Washington state patrol under section 1 of this act to every public and private school in the state of Washington.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.     There is hereby appropriated to the Washington state patrol from the general fund for the 1985-87 biennium the sum of .......... dollars or so much thereof as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of section 1 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5.     There is hereby appropriated to the superintendent of public instruction from the general fund for the 1985-87 biennium the sum of .......... dollars or so much thereof as may be necessary to carry out its duties under section 3 of this act.