87R10401 AJZ-F     By: Hull, White, Patterson, H.B. No. 1419       Morales of Maverick, Price, et al.     Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1419:     By:  Harless C.S.H.B. No. 1419       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to the duties of a law enforcement agency regarding   missing children and missing persons and to the duties of a justice   of the peace or other investigator regarding unidentified bodies.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  This Act shall be known as John and Joseph's Law.          SECTION 2.  Article 49.04, Code of Criminal Procedure, is   amended by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:          (e)  A justice of the peace investigating a death described   by Subsection (a)(3)(B), or the justice's designee, shall, not   later than the 10th working day after the date that one or more   identifying features of the unidentified body are determined or the   60th day after the date the investigation began, whichever is   earlier, enter all available identifying features of the   unidentified body (fingerprints, dental records, any unusual   physical characteristics, and a description of the clothing found   on the body) into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons   System.          SECTION 3.  Section 7, Article 49.25, Code of Criminal   Procedure, is amended by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:          (d)  A person investigating a death described by Section   6(a)(3)(B), or the person's designee, shall, not later than the   10th working day after the date that one or more identifying   features of the unidentified body are determined or the 60th day   after the date the investigation began, whichever is earlier, enter   all available identifying features of the unidentified body   (fingerprints, dental records, any unusual physical   characteristics, and a description of the clothing found on the   body) into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.          SECTION 4.  Articles 63.009(a), (b), and (f), Code of   Criminal Procedure, are amended to read as follows:          (a)  A [Local] law enforcement agency [agencies], on   receiving a report of a missing child or [a] missing person, shall:                (1)  if the subject of the report is a child and the   child is at a high risk of harm or is otherwise in danger or if the   subject of the report is a person who is known by the agency to have   or is reported to have chronic dementia, including Alzheimer's   dementia, whether caused by illness, brain defect, or brain injury,   immediately start an investigation in order to determine the   present location of the child or person;                (2)  if the subject of the report is a child or person   other than a child or person described by Subdivision (1), start an   investigation with due diligence in order to determine the present   location of the child or person;                (3)  immediately, but not later than two hours after   receiving the report, enter the name of the child or person into the   clearinghouse and[,] the national crime information center missing   person file if the child or person meets the center's criteria, and   report that name to the Alzheimer's Association Safe Return   emergency response center [crisis number,] if applicable, with all   available identifying features such as dental records,   fingerprints, other physical characteristics, and a description of   the clothing worn when last seen, and all available information   describing any person reasonably believed to have taken or retained   the missing child or missing person; [and]                (4)  not later than the 60th day after the date the   agency receives the report, enter the name of the child or person   into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, with all   available identifying features such as dental records,   fingerprints, other physical characteristics, and a description of   the clothing worn when last seen, and all available information   describing any person reasonably believed to have taken or retained   the missing child or missing person; and                (5)  inform the person who filed the report of the   missing child or missing person that the information will be:                      (A)  entered into the clearinghouse, the national   crime information center missing person file, and the National   Missing and Unidentified Persons System; and                      (B)  reported to the Alzheimer's Association Safe   Return emergency response center [crisis number,] if applicable.          (b)  Information not immediately available when the original   entry is made shall be [obtained by the agency and] entered into the   clearinghouse, [and] the national crime information center file,   and the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System as a   supplement to the original entry as soon as possible.          (f)  Immediately after the return of a missing child or   missing person or the identification of an unidentified body, the   local law enforcement agency having jurisdiction of the   investigation shall:                (1)  clear [cancel] the entry in the national crime   information center database; and                (2)  notify the National Missing and Unidentified   Persons System.          SECTION 5.  (a) Articles 49.04 and 49.25, Code of Criminal   Procedure, as amended by this Act, apply only to the investigation   of a death of an unidentified person that commences on or after the   effective date of this Act. An investigation that commences before   the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when   the investigation commenced, and the former law is continued in   effect for that purpose.          (b)  Article 63.009, Code of Criminal Procedure, as amended   by this Act, applies only to the report of a missing child or   missing person that is made to a law enforcement agency on or after   the effective date of this Act. The report of a missing child or   missing person that is made to a law enforcement agency before the   effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the   report was made, and the former law is continued in effect for that   purpose.          SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.