BILL ANALYSIS �
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1127|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1127
Author: Torres (D) and Pavley (D)
Amended: 6/15/14
Vote: 21
SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE : 4-0, 4/22/14
AYES: Liu, Berryhill, DeSaulnier, Hancock
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wyland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR : 35-0, 5/8/14 (Consent)
AYES: Anderson, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Cannella, Corbett,
Correa, De Le�n, DeSaulnier, Evans, Fuller, Galgiani, Hancock,
Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Lieu, Liu,
Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nielsen, Padilla, Pavley, Roth,
Steinberg, Torres, Vidak, Walters, Wolk, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Calderon, Gaines, Knight, Wright, Yee
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 8/14/14 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT : Emergency services: individuals with developmental
disabilities
and cognitive impairments
SOURCE : The Help Group
DIGEST : This bill adds individuals who are developmentally
disabled or cognitively impaired to the list of people who may
CONTINUED
SB 1127
Page
2
be the subject of a Silver Alert and deletes the existing sunset
date, thereby extending the operation of these provisions
indefinitely.
Assembly Amendments delete the existing sunset date.
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
1.Establishes the Emergency Alert System, which has been
nicknamed the "Amber Alert" system, which may be activated if
a law enforcement agency receives a report that an abduction
has occurred or that a child has been taken by anyone,
including a custodial parent or guardian, and the victim is in
imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death, and there
is information available that, if disseminated to the general
public, could assist in the safe recovery of the victim, as
specified.
2.Establishes a "blue alert" system, designed to issue and
coordinate alerts if a law enforcement officer has been killed
or seriously injured by a suspect who has fled the scene and
poses an imminent threat to public safety, as specified.
3.Establishes a "Silver Alert" notification system, operated by
the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to issue and coordinate
alerts when a person age 65 or older is missing, as specified.
4.Encourages radio, television, and cable and satellite systems
to cooperate with disseminating the information contained in a
Silver Alert.
5.Requires the CHP to assist the investigating law enforcement
agency by issuing a be-on-the-lookout alert, an Emergency
Digital Information Service message, or an electronic flyer.
6.Defines a developmental disability as a disability that
originates before an individual attains 18 years of age;
continues, or can be expected to continue, indefinitely; and
constitutes a substantial disability for that individual.
This term includes disabling conditions found to be closely
related to intellectual disability or to require treatment
similar to that required for individuals with an intellectual
disability, but does not include other handicapping conditions
that are solely physical in nature.
CONTINUED
SB 1127
Page
3
7.Defines a cognitive impairment as the loss or deterioration of
intellectual capacity characterized by impairments in short-
or long-term memory, language, concentration and attention,
orientation to people, place, or time, visual-spatial
abilities or executive functions, or both, including, but not
limited to, judgment, reasoning, or the ability to inhibit
behaviors that interfere with social, occupational, or
everyday functioning due to conditions, including, but not
limited to, mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease or
other form of dementia, or brain injury.
This bill adds to the list of individuals who may be the subject
of a Silver Alert anyone who is developmentally disabled, or
cognitively impaired, as defined, and deletes the existing
sunset date, thereby extending the operation of these provisions
indefinitely.
Background
Emergency Alert System
Amber Alert . The nation's first Amber alert was established in
1996, and named after the after 9-year-old Amber Hagerman who
was kidnapped and murdered while riding her bicycle in
Arlington, Texas, that same year. It was intended to help
inform local residents to search for a child who was abducted
nearby.
California began the Amber Alert as a regional program in 1999
and it was adopted statewide in 2002 (AB 415, Runner). As of
February 2014, there have been 219 activations in California,
255 recovered victims and 131 suspects arrested. Of the
abductions, twice as many were parental abductions as stranger
abductions. The CHP is responsible for statewide coordination
of the Amber Alert system.
Blue Alert . California expanded the alert system in 2010 to
allow the CHP to initiate a quick response to coordinate alerts
following an attack on a law enforcement officer if the officer
was killed, suffered serious bodily injury or was assaulted with
a deadly weapon and the suspect remains at large.
Silver Alert . In 2012, California established the Silver Alert
CONTINUED
SB 1127
Page
4
program to coordinate communication after the unexplained or
suspicious disappearance of an elderly person. The system is
intended to provide immediate attention to the public about the
missing person, including photographs, descriptions and
information about the last time and location they were seen.
The program is coordinated by the California Highway Patrol,
which will issue an alert only if the missing person is 65 years
or older, the investigating agency has used all of its resources
and determines that the missing person disappeared under
suspicious or unexplained circumstances and the local law
enforcement agency believes the person is in danger. The CHP
also must determine that if the information was disseminated to
the public, it could assist in the safe recovery of the missing
person. According to the author, there have been 182 Silver
Alert activations since the system was created, resulting in 166
successful recoveries of one or more adults.
According to a 2009 report issued by the Congressional Research
Service, "Alert Systems for Missing Adults in Eleven States:
Background and Issues for Congress," there is growing concern
about the dangers associated with adults with cognitive
disorders who wander:
Policymakers and advocates for the missing have identified
persons with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of
dementia as being particularly vulnerable to missing
episodes. Increases in longevity among the older
population and the aging of the baby boom generation have
contributed to interest in establishing these systems.
Wandering from home can be a frequent behavior that may
pose a significant, sometimes life-threatening, danger to
the wellbeing of those with Alzheimer's disease and other
forms of dementia. According to the Alzheimer's
Association, if not found within 24 hours, nearly 50% of
those who wander risk serious illness or death. Illness or
death may occur from exposure to the elements, lack of food
or hydration for an extended period, and general inability
of the individual to think, act, or communicate to gain
assistance.
More than 16 million people in the U.S. are living with
cognitive impairments. Alzheimer's is the most common form of
dementia, a general term for memory loss and other intellectual
disabilities serious enough to interfere with daily life. A
CONTINUED
SB 1127
Page
5
person with Alzheimer's, or other forms of cognitive impairment,
may not remember his/her name or address, and can become
disoriented, even in familiar places. These individuals are
prone to wandering and become missing from their families or
caregivers. It's estimated that 60% of individuals with
cognitive impairments or Alzheimer's will wander.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee,
CHP indicates costs to expand Silver Alerts to developmentally
disabled and cognitively impaired persons would be absorbable;
CHP already has procedures for endangered missing advisories
for this cohort.
Ongoing costs to extend the Silver Alert system indefinitely
would be absorbable, as current staffing levels for CHP's
Emergency Notification and Tactical Alert Center, which covers
Amber and Silver Alerts, would not be affected.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/15/14)
The Help Group (source)
Association of Regional Center Agencies
California Council of the Alzheimer's Association
Center for Autism and Related Disorders
Educate. Advocate.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author states that California
currently lacks an effective and widespread broadcasting system
to respond to cases of missing individuals with developmentally
disabilities or cognitive impairments. According to the author,
several private programs and agencies dedicated to supporting
search efforts for wandering individuals with autism are in
place today and are actively used, however, lack adequate
funding and support to be fully effective. The author states
this bill uses California's existing infrastructure to address a
serious problem for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder,
developmental disabilities, Alzheimer's, and other forms of
cognitive impairments.
CONTINUED
SB 1127
Page
6
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 08/14/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Holden, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein,
Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian,
Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A. P�rez, V.
Manuel P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas,
Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron,
Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Roger Hern�ndez, Vacancy
JL:nl 8/15/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****
CONTINUED