HB1523

House Bill 1523 formalizes and codifies into state law the existing missing persons alert systems managed by the Arkansas State Police. The bill explicitly creates the Arkansas Amber Alert System for abducted children and the Arkansas Silver Alert System for missing seniors and individuals with cognitive disorders. Additionally, it establishes a new 'Missing Endangered Adult Advisory System' to assist in locating missing adults who do not qualify for the Silver Alert but possess mental, cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities, or brain injuries. The bill mandates that the Division of Arkansas State Police serve as the coordinating agency for these systems and gives the Department of Public Safety the authority to establish criteria, procedures, and rules for their activation. It also includes specific safeguards for the Missing Endangered Adult Advisory System, such as prioritizing the privacy and dignity of the missing individual and ensuring the system is used only when likely to be effective. The advisory system specifically excludes individuals who are determined to be suicidal.