1

The Committee on Criminal Justice (King) recommended the

2

following amendment:

3

4

     Senate Amendment (with title amendment)

5

     Delete everything after the enacting clause

6

and insert:

7

     Section 1. Personal tracking program grants.--

8

     (1) A state grant program is established to encourage each

9

county in this state to implement a personal tracking program

10

that is a search-and-rescue program designed to quickly find a

11

lost or wandering person who is mentally impaired due to

12

Alzheimer's disease, autism, Down syndrome, or other causes.

13

     (2) The Department of Law Enforcement shall administer the

14

grant program, manage the state moneys appropriated for the

15

purpose of starting county programs, and serve as a liaison to

16

county personal tracking programs.

17

     (3) To apply for state grant moneys for implementing a

18

county personal tracking program, a county sheriff's office or

19

other lead agency must submit an application annually by October

20

1, which includes:

21

     (a) An estimate of the number of people who might qualify

22

for personal tracking assistance;

23

     (b) An estimate of the startup cost;

24

     (c) A statement of the number of personnel available for

25

tracking lost individuals; and

26

     (d) The source or sources and the amount of local funds

27

available for matching state grant moneys.

28

     (4) The department shall prioritize the grant moneys in

29

accordance with the respective counties' needs for tracking

30

services, the availability of local sources to provide matching

31

funds, and the date the application was received by the

32

department. The maximum grant that a county may receive for

33

startup is $10,000, and the amount awarded must be matched,

34

dollar for dollar, by local funds. Grants awarded to qualifying

35

counties must be prorated in accordance with the availability of

36

state funds.

37

     (5) The county sheriff's office or other lead agency shall

38

use the grant money and matching funds to purchase the necessary

39

equipment and training to implement a county personal tracking

40

program. Through its community resource officer, the sheriff's

41

office or other lead agency shall solicit moneys from private

42

sources so as to ensure that within 3 years the personal

43

tracking program is self-supporting and no longer requires state

44

funding.

45

     Section 2. The sum of $670,000 is appropriated from the

46

General Revenue Fund to the Department of Law Enforcement for

47

the 2008-2009 fiscal year for the purpose of awarding grants to

48

counties that qualify under this act to start a county personal

49

tracking program.

50

     Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.

51

52

================ T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================

53

And the title is amended as follows:

54

     Delete everything before the enacting clause

55

and insert:

56

A bill to be entitled

57

An act relating to an electronic monitoring program for

58

tracking lost persons; establishing a grant program to

59

encourage counties to implement county personal tracking

60

programs; describing the components of the program;

61

designating the Department of Law Enforcement as the

62

administrative agency; providing for application for state

63

grant funds and requiring local matching funds; providing

64

a cap on the amount of a grant and for prioritizing and

65

prorating grants; requiring the county sheriff's office or

66

other lead agency to use the funds for purchasing

67

equipment and training; requiring the solicitation of

68

private moneys and the achievement of financial

69

independence for the program within a specified time;

70

providing an effective date.

71

72

     WHEREAS, more than 5 million United States residents have

73

Alzheimer's disease and more than 50 percent of those

74

individuals wander and become lost, and

75

     WHEREAS, autism is the fastest-growing serious

76

developmental disability in the United States and many autistic

77

individuals wander and are attracted to water, causing drowning

78

to be the leading cause of death for children who have autism,

79

and

80

     WHEREAS, agencies that sponsor local personal tracking

81

programs have stated that the programs materially reduce the

82

time required to find lost persons, often to less than ½ hour

83

after the person is reported missing, within which period there

84

is a 100 percent recovery rate, and

85

     WHEREAS, 16 Florida counties and 5 police departments have

86

implemented personal tracking programs, NOW, THEREFORE,

3/5/2008  1:06:00 PM     CJ.CJ.04499