AB1321 - Department of Justice: online missing person registry.

Amended IN Assembly March 10, 2025 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Bill No. 1321 Introduced by Assembly Member Castillo February 21, 2025 An act to amend Section 14205 of add Section 14217 to the Penal Code, relating to prevention and investigation of crimes. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1321, as amended, Castillo. Department of Justice: online missing person registry. Existing law requires the Attorney General to establish an online, automated computer system designed to effect an immediate law enforcement response to reports of missing persons. Existing law requires the online missing persons registry to accept and generate specified information on a missing person. Existing law also requires the Attorney General to establish a separate and confidential historic database relating to missing children and at-risk adults, for statistical and research purposes, as specified. This bill would require the Attorney General to establish, in consultation with specified groups, agencies, and organizations, an electronic database and support system, as specified, for the public to report and search for missing children, as specified. The bill would require that parents reunified with children be offered free DNA testing to confirm parentage. This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to those provisions. Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NO YES Local Program: NO Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. Section 14217 is added to the Penal Code, to read: 14217. (a) The Attorney General shall establish, in consultation with nonprofit organizations, homeless shelters, legal aid groups, and government agencies, an electronic database and support system for the public to report and search for missing children, including immigrant children. (b) The electronic database and support system shall do all of the following: (1) Allow parents to register missing children and receive updates on the child’s location. (2) Include anonymous reporting features to encourage participation without fear of immigration enforcement. (3) Ensure firewall protections to prevent unauthorized data sharing. (c) If a missing child is identified, the parents shall be offered free DNA testing in a state-approved laboratory to confirm parentage. The results of a DNA test pursuant to this subdivision shall be used exclusively for reunification purposes. (d) For the purposes of this section, “immigrant” includes a person who is not a citizen or national of the United States, including a person who is undocumented. SECTION 1. Section 14205 of the Penal Code is amended to read: 14205. (a) The online missing persons registry shall accept and generate complete information on a missing person. (b) The information on a missing person shall be retrievable by any of the following: (1) The person’s name. (2) The person’s date of birth. (3) The person’s social security number. (4) Whether a dental chart has been received, coded, and entered into the National Crime Information Center Missing Person System by the Attorney General. (5) The person’s physical description, including hair and eye color and body marks. (6) The person’s known associates. (7) The person’s last known location. (8) The name or assumed name of the abductor, if applicable, other pertinent information relating to the abductor or the assumed abductor, or both. (9) Any other information, as deemed appropriate by the Attorney General. (c) The Attorney General, in consultation with local law enforcement agencies and other user groups, shall develop the form in which information shall be entered into the system. (d) The Attorney General shall establish and maintain within the center a separate and confidential historic database relating to missing children and at-risk adults. The historic database may be used only by the center for statistical and research purposes. The historic database shall be set up to categorize cases relating to missing children and at-risk adults by type. These types shall include the following: (1) Runaways. (2) Voluntary missing. (3) Lost. (4) Abduction involving movement of the victim in the commission of the crime or sexual exploitation. (5) Nonfamily abduction. (6) Family abduction. (7) Any other categories as determined by the Attorney General. (e) In addition, the data shall include the number of missing children and missing at-risk adults in this state and the category of each case. (f) The center may supply information about specific cases from the historic database to a local police department, sheriff’s department, or district attorney, only in connection with an investigation by the police department, sheriff’s department, or district attorney of a missing person case or a violation or attempted violation of Section 220, 261.5, 273a, 273d, or 273.5, or any sex offense listed in Section 290, except for the offense specified in subdivision (d) of Section 243.4.