BILL REQ. #:  H-3670.2 

Read first time 01/13/2006.   Referred to Committee on Criminal Justice & Corrections.

     AN ACT Relating to missing persons; amending RCW 68.50.320; adding new sections to chapter 36.28A RCW; adding a new section to chapter 43.103 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 43.43 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 43.70 RCW; and creating new sections.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that there were over forty-six thousand reports of persons missing nationwide and over five hundred missing persons in the state of Washington. Major catastrophic events in other parts of the United States this year have also emphasized that identifying victims in mass disasters is often impossible, due to the deficiency in planning by communities and governments. It is the intent of this act to build upon the research and findings of the Washington state missing persons task force, assembled by the state attorney general in 2003, the United States department of justice, and others to aid in recovery of missing persons and the identification of human remains.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 36.28A RCW to read as follows:
     The Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs, in consultation with the Washington association of county officials, the Washington association of coroners and medical examiners, the forensic investigations council, the Washington state patrol, and other interested agencies and individuals, shall convene a committee to coordinate the use of the latest technology and available science to improve reporting of missing persons, to improve the communication within the state and with national data bases, to enhance the dissemination of information to other agencies and the public, and to improve reporting for missing persons and the collection and preservation of evidence.
     Protocols for the investigation of reported missing persons, identification of human remains, and recommended protocols for the reporting and identification of persons missing as the result of major events not limited to tsunami, earthquake, or acts of terrorism shall be endorsed by the groups named in this section who shall then seek the voluntary adoption of the same by all local law enforcement agencies, coroners, medical examiners, and others charged with locating missing persons or identifying human remains.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 43.103 RCW to read as follows:
     The Washington state forensic investigations council, in cooperation with the Washington association of coroners and medical examiners and other interested agencies, shall develop training modules that are essential to the effective implementation and use of missing persons protocols using funds provided in RCW 43.79.445. The training modules must provide training through classes and media that will train and educate small departments or those at remote locations with the least disruption. The modules will include, but will not be limited to: The reporting process, the use of forms and protocols, the effective use of resources, the collection and importance of evidence and preservation of biological evidence, and risk assessment of the individuals reported missing.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   A new section is added to chapter 36.28A RCW to read as follows:
     The Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs shall create and maintain a statewide web site, which shall be available to the public. The web site shall post relevant information concerning persons reported missing in the state of Washington. For missing persons, the web site shall contain, but is not limited to: The person's name, physical description, photograph, and other information that is deemed necessary according to the adopted protocols. This web site shall allow citizens to more broadly disseminate information regarding missing persons for at least thirty days. Due to the large number of reports received on persons who are overdue and subsequently appear, the information will be removed from the web site after thirty days, unless persons filing the report have notified local law enforcement that the person is still missing.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   A new section is added to chapter 36.28A RCW to read as follows:
     The Washington state patrol shall establish an interface with local law enforcement and the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs missing persons web site, the toll-free twenty-four hour hotline, and national and other statewide missing persons systems or clearinghouses.
     Local law enforcement agencies shall file an official missing persons report and enter biographical information into the state missing persons computerized network within twelve hours after notification of a missing person's report is received under this chapter.

Sec. 6   RCW 68.50.320 and 2001 c 223 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     When a person reported missing has not been found within thirty days of the report, or at any time the investigating agency suspects criminal activity to be the basis of the victim being missing, the sheriff, chief of police, county coroner or county medical examiner, or other law enforcement authority initiating and conducting the investigation for the missing person shall, within forty-eight hours of suspecting the criminal activity, immediately file a report, collect DNA samples from the known missing person, and ask the missing person's family or next of kin to give written consent to contact the dentist or dentists of the missing person and request the person's dental records.
     ((When a person reported missing has not been found within thirty days, the sheriff, chief of police, or other law enforcement authority initiating and conducting the investigation for the missing person shall confer with the county coroner or medical examiner prior to the preparation of a missing person's report. After conferring with the coroner or medical examiner, the sheriff, chief of police, or other law enforcement authority shall submit a missing person's report and the dental records received under this section to the dental identification system of the state patrol identification and criminal history section on forms supplied by the state patrol for such purpose.))
     As soon as possible after collecting the DNA evidence and after conferring with the county coroner or medical examiner, the sheriff, chief of police, or other law enforcement authority shall submit the missing person's report, the DNA samples taken, and the missing person's dental records to the state patrol identification, child abuse, vulnerable adult abuse, and criminal history section on forms supplied by the state patrol for such purpose.
     The state patrol identification, child abuse, vulnerable adult abuse, and criminal history section shall store the evidence collected from the known missing person in a missing persons data base. The missing persons data base shall be a separate and distinct data base from other DNA data bases maintained by the agency.
     In cases where criminal activity is suspected, the state patrol shall immediately conduct nuclear DNA testing of the samples and submit the DNA samples and the dental records to the missing persons data base, and shall forward copies of the DNA samples and dental records to the federal bureau of investigation for mitochondrial DNA testing within seventy-two hours upon receipt of the evidence of the known missing person.
     When a person reported missing has been found, the sheriff, chief of police, coroner or medical examiner, or other law enforcement authority shall report such information to the state patrol.
     The dental identification system shall maintain a file of information regarding persons reported to it as missing. The file shall contain the information referred to in this section and such other information as the state patrol finds relevant to assist in the location of a missing person.
     The files of the dental identification system shall, upon request, be made available to law enforcement agencies attempting to locate missing persons.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   A new section is added to chapter 43.43 RCW to read as follows:
     Any biological sample taken from a known missing person under RCW 68.50.320 shall be forwarded to the federal bureau of investigation within seventy-two hours upon receipt of the DNA samples. The crime laboratory of the state patrol will conduct nuclear DNA testing of the biological sample and, in the event additional testing is required, the mitochondrial DNA testing will be conducted through the federal bureau of investigation, as long as it is available on a timely basis and delays do not further endanger the missing person involved. If substantial delays in testing occur or federal testing is no longer available, the legislature should provide funding to implement mitochondrial technology in the state of Washington.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   A new section is added to chapter 43.70 RCW to read as follows:
     The department of health shall maintain PKU tests of infants for DNA testing in the event the infant requires identification at a later date. There shall be a repository in every county where voluntary DNA swabs are maintained.
     The department shall establish rules governing disclosure of test materials solely for the purpose of identification of a missing person or identification of human remains and to prohibit their use for any other purpose.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9   If specific funding for the purposes of section 4 of this act, referencing this act and section 4 of this act by bill or chapter number and section number, is not provided by June 30, 2006, in the omnibus appropriations act, section 4 of this act is null and void.