BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 643
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Date of Hearing: April 21, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON AGING AND LONG-TERM CARE
Cheryl Brown, Chair
AB 643
Nazarian - As Amended April 8, 2015
SUBJECT: Emergency services: Silver Alerts.
SUMMARY: Authorizes the use of changeable message signs for
Silver Alerts when certain criteria are met. Specifically, this
bill:
1)Allows the California Department of Highway Patrol to activate
messages on changeable message signs located throughout the
state on major routes when a law enforcement agency determines
that a Silver Alert subject may be in a vehicle, and specific
information about that vehicle is available for public
dissemination.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Federal law establishes the Emergency Alert System (EAS), a
national public warning system that requires broadcasters,
cable television systems, wireless cable systems, satellite
digital audio radio service providers, and direct broadcast
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satellite providers, that enables the President to address the
American public during a national emergency. Federal law
permits state and local authorities to use the system to
deliver other important emergency information.
2)State law authorizes "Amber Alerts," a program designed to aid
in the recovery of an abducted child or an individual with a
proven mental or physical disability, and requires the
California Highway Patrol (CHP), in consultation with others,
to develop policies and procedures to instruct agencies how to
carry out an Amber Alert.
3)State law authorizes "Blue Alerts," a quick response system
designed to issue and coordinate alerts when a law enforcement
officer has been killed or is seriously injured.
4)State law authorizes a Silver Alert notification system,
designed to issue and coordinate alerts if a person that is
age 65 years or older, developmentally disabled, or
cognitively impaired is missing, and all the following
conditions have been met:
a) The missing person is aged 65 or older, developmentally
disabled, or cognitively impaired;
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b) The law enforcement agency has used all available local
resources to locate the missing person;
c) The person has gone missing under unexplained or
suspicious circumstances;
d) The missing person is believed to be in danger because
of health or weather conditions, or in the company of
dangerous people; and,
e) It has been determined that the public dissemination of
information may lead to a safe recovery of the missing
person.
5)Directs CHP, upon activation of a Silver Alert, to issue a
be-on-the-lookout alert, an Emergency Digital Information
Service message, and/or electronic flyer.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.
COMMENTS:
Author's Statement: "AB 643 expands the Silver Alert program to
also activate an alert via Changeable Message Signs (CMS). CMS
effectively displays safety and traffic information to the
public utilizing California highways. The alert will reach
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millions of motorists and will ensure that California is taking
all possible measures in aiding with the safe return of a
missing person."
Background on Silver Alerts: California has the largest number
of seniors, age 65 or older, in the nation currently at 5.1
million, and due to the Silver Tsunami, that number is expected
to climb to 9 million by 2030. When a senior goes missing and
has been determined by law enforcement to be in danger (for
example, a senior with Alzheimer's disease who has wandered away
from home), California uses a uniform alert system to help with
recovery. Such conditions often have the effect of leaving
victims disoriented and confused. It is estimated that over
five million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's, and 60 percent
of these persons are likely to wander from their homes. The
Alzheimer's Foundation of America states that 50 percent of such
wanderers risk illness, injury, or death if not located within
24 hours. Missing seniors must be found quickly because they
have a 50 percent greater chance of serious injury or death when
they've been missing over 24 hours, due to exposure and lack of
much needed medications.
The Silver Alert program is deployed differently than the Amber
Alert and Blue Alert programs because it deploys:
1)Be-On-The-Lookout (BOLO) announcements (which contain suspect,
victim, and vehicle information) that are broadcast by CHP
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communication centers to CHP personnel located in the affected
geographic areas.
2)Emergency Digital Information Services which provides local,
state, and federal law enforcement agencies with a direct
computer link to media outlets and other law enforcement
agencies.
3)APBnet, an image-based system operated by a non-profit
organization that links state, county, and local law
enforcement. The system captures, then immediately
distributes color photographs and images to law enforcement
agencies, the media, and other organizations.
California supports 790 changeable message signs on major state
highways subject to both federal and California policies. These
regulations generally limit the use of changeable message signs
to traffic operations and guidance information. Additionally,
the signs are used for Amber Alerts and Blue Alerts.
Support: The California Long-Term Care Ombudsman Association,
an organization that represents the local, professional
Long-Term Care Ombudsmans describes "wandering," "elopements,"
and "being lost" as a high-risk behavior that will impact about
6 in 10 older people with dementia. It is not always possible
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to predict when a senior is going to wander, so having safety
protocols in place to reduce the amount of time that a senior
spends lost, is vital to their well-being.
Opposition: None.
Dual Referral: AB 643 was heard by the Assembly Transportation
Committee on April 6. 2015 and passed unanimously, with no
abstentions.
Prior Legislation:
SB 839 (Runner), Chapter 311, Statutes of 2010, required the
CHP, at the request of an authorized person at a law enforcement
agency, to activate the EAS and issue a "blue alert", as
defined, if a law enforcement officer has been killed, suffers
serious bodily injury, or is assaulted with a deadly weapon, the
suspect has fled the scene of the offense, and other specified
conditions are met.
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SB 1047 (Alquist), Chapter 651, Statutes of 2012, authorized the
"Silver Alert Program" to provide public alerts when an older
adult has been reported missing and the law enforcement agency
determines that public dissemination of an alert would
contribute the individual's safe return.
SB 38 (Alquist), of the 2009-10 Legislative Session, called for
the development of a missing senior person alert on or before
January 1, 2011. SB 38 was held on the Assembly Appropriations
Committee's Suspense File.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Senior Legislature - Sponsor
American Silver Alert Coalition
Alzheimer's Association
The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy California Collaboration
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Association of Regional Center Agencies (ARCA)
California Assisted Living Association (CALA)
California College and University Police Chiefs Association
California Long-Term Care Ombudsman Association (CLTCOA)
Center for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD)
Congress of California Seniors
County of San Diego
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Robert MacLaughlin / AGING & L.T.C. / (916)
319-3990
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