A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to clarify the laws pertaining to the amber alert system.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 143B‑499.7 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143B‑499.7.  North Carolina AMBER Alert System established.
(a)	There is established within the North Carolina Center for Missing Persons the AMBER Alert System. The purpose of AMBER Alert is to provide a statewide system for the rapid dissemination of information regarding abducted or missing children.
(b)	The AMBER Alert System shall make every effort to disseminate information on abducted or missing children as quickly as possible when the following criteria are met:
(1)	The child is 17 years of age or younger;
(2)	Repealed by Session Laws 2003‑191, s. 3, effective June 12, 2003.
(3)	Repealed by Session Laws 2003‑191, s. 3, effective June 12, 2003.
(4)	The child is not known or suspected to have been abducted or be missing as a result of some act by a parent of the child, unless the child's life is suspected to be in danger of injury or death;
(4a)	The child is believed:
a.	To have been abducted, 
b.	To be in danger of injury or death, or
c.	To be missing and has cognitive impairment that may place the child in danger of injury or death;
(5)	The child is not a runaway or voluntarily missing; and
(6)	Information regarding the child who has been abducted or is missing has been reported to and investigated by a law enforcement agency.
If the  child is known or suspected to have been abducted or be missing as result of some act by a parent of the child, the Center, in its discretion, may disseminate information through the AMBER Alert 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 AMBER Alert 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 AMBER Alert 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 a child who has been abducted or is missing and meets 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 abducted or 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 a child who has been abducted or is missing and meets 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 AMBER Alert System."
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.