Summary:

 Senate Bill 41 (SB 41):  This bill amends the Missing Persons Information and Reporting Act to create and implement a Turquoise Alert for missing American Indians.  

Legislation Overview:

 Senate Bill 41 (SB 41):  This bill provides the following provisions:
1.	Definition of “Turquoise Alert” - 
a)	A notification relating to an endangered missing person who is an enrolled member (or eligible for enrollment) of a federally recognized Indian nation, tribe, or pueblo.
2.	Procedures and Requirements - 
b)	The Department of Public Safety (DPS) or the lead investigating law enforcement agency must issue a Turquoise Alert following an independent determination that an individual meets the alert criteria.
DPS must develop a Turquoise Alert plan that:
c)	Notifies a designated “lead station,” other state/local law enforcement agencies, and media outlets.
d)	Coordinates with the Department of Information Technology to distribute alerts to relevant state personnel and incorporate wireless emergency alerts via cellular services.
e)	Maintains records on each Turquoise Alert, including the missing person’s age, gender, origin of the missing person report, and dates of issuance and recovery.
Local Law Enforcement and Public Communications - 
f)	DPS shall distribute the Turquoise Alert plan to all local law enforcement agencies and provide training to ensure proper implementation and consistent communication across jurisdictions.
Termination of Alert - 
g)	Only DPS or the lead investigating law enforcement agency may terminate a Turquoise Alert once it has been declared.
 

Current Law:

 Current New Mexico Statutes Annotated 1978 - Chapter 8 NMSA 1978
B. The attorney general shall employ one or more missing indigenous persons specialists, who shall work in collaboration with local, state, federal and tribal law enforcement agencies on missing indigenous persons cases pursuant to the Missing Persons Information and Reporting Act [Chapter 29, Article 15 NMSA 1978].   [...]  C. The missing indigenous persons specialists shall: (1) review entries in the database of the national crime information center of the United States department of justice and other databases, including the missing persons information clearinghouse, to ensure records of missing indigenous persons are accurate, complete and   [...]  (5) compile reports of pending missing indigenous persons cases, including the status of pending missing indigenous persons cases, the clearance rate of investigating agencies responsible for tracking missing indigenous persons cases and an analysis by year of the characteristics of missing indigenous persons;
 

Amendments:

 STBTCa/SB 41:  The following recommendation was made to the Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee to amend Senate Bill 41:
 1.  On page 5, line 2, strike the colon, strike line 3 in its
 entirety and strike line 4 up to "an".
 2.  On page 5, line 6, strike the period and insert in lieu
 thereof:
 "; and the:
 (1)  person is missing due to involuntary, unexplained
 or suspicious circumstances;
 (2)  missing person's safety or health may be
 endangered;
 (3)  missing person may be subject to human
 trafficking; or
 (4)  missing person suffers from a mental or physical
 disability or substance use disorder."