A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to authorize the north carolina center for missing persons to accept and expend private donations for the north carolina child alert notification system – nc can (amber alert), to establish criteria to trigger an "amber alert", to coordinate the public and private sectors, and to provide for the use of department of transportation changeable message signs to display information regarding missing children.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 143B‑499.1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143B‑499.1.  Dissemination of missing persons data by law‑enforcement agencies.
A law‑enforcement agency, upon receipt of a missing person report by a parent, spouse, guardian, or legal custodian, shall immediately make arrangements for the entry of data about the missing person or missing child into the national missing persons file in accordance with criteria set forth by the FBI/NCIC, immediately inform all of its on‑duty law‑enforcement officers of the missing person report, initiate a statewide broadcast to all appropriate law‑enforcement agencies to be on the lookout for the individual, and transmit a copy of the report to the Center.
If the report involves a missing child and the report meets the criteria established in G.S. 143B-499.7(b), as soon as practicable after receipt of the report, the 
law enforcement agency shall notify the Center of the relevant data about the missing child."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 143B‑499.2 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(6a)	Develop and maintain the North Carolina Child Alert Notification System (NC CAN) as created by G.S. 143B-499.7;".
SECTION 3.  Article 11 of Chapter 143B of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 143B-499.7. North Carolina Child Alert Notification System established.
(a)	There is established within the North Carolina Center for Missing Persons the North Carolina Child Alert Notification System (NC CAN). The purpose of NC CAN is to provide a statewide system for the rapid dissemination of information regarding abducted children.
(b)	The NC CAN System shall make every effort to disseminate information on missing children as quickly as possible when the following criteria are met:
(1)	The child is 12 years of age or younger;
(2)	The child is believed to have been abducted;
(3)	The child is believed to be in danger of injury or death;
(4)	The abduction is not known or suspected to be by a parent of the child;
(5)	The child is not a runaway or voluntarily missing; and
(6)	The abduction has been reported to and investigated by a law enforcement agency.
The NC CAN System may disseminate information on missing children who are ages 13 to 17 on a case-by-case basis, if all other criteria in subdivisions (2) through (6) of this subsection have been met, if the Center believes the dissemination of the information to be beneficial in the possible recovery of the missing child.
If the abduction of the child is known or suspected to be by a parent of the child, the Center, in its discretion, may disseminate information through the NC CAN System if the child is believed to be in danger of injury or death.
(c)	The Center shall adopt guidelines and develop procedures for the statewide implementation of the NC CAN System and shall provide education and training to encourage radio and television broadcasters to participate in the System. The Center shall work with the Department of Justice in developing training material regarding the NC CAN System for law enforcement, broadcasters, and community interest groups.
(d)	The Center shall consult with the Department of Transportation and develop a procedure for the use of overhead permanent changeable message signs to provide information on the abduction of a child meeting the criteria established in subsection (b) of this section, when information is available that would enable motorists to assist law enforcement in the recovery of the missing child. The Center and the Department of Transportation shall develop guidelines for the content, length, and frequency of any message to be placed on an overhead permanent changeable message sign.
(e)	The Center shall consult with the Division of Emergency Management, in the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, to develop a procedure for the use of the Emergency Alert System to provide information on the abduction of a child meeting the criteria established in subsection (b) of this section.
(f)	The Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, on behalf of the Center, may accept grants, contributions, devises, bequests, and gifts, which shall be kept in a separate fund, which shall be nonreverting, and shall be used to fund the operations of the Center and the NC CAN System."
SECTION 4.  Section 1 of this act becomes effective October 1, 2002.  The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.