S.B. 1123: COMMITTEE SUMMARY - MISSING CHILDREN TASK FORCE
Senate Bill 1123 (as introduced 5-7-98)
Sponsor: Senator Leon Stille
Committee: Families, Mental Health and Human Services
CONTENT
The bill would create the "Missing Children Task Force Act", which would establish a missing children's task force within the Department of State Police. The proposed Act would be repealed on December 31, 1999, and the task force would have to submit a final report to the Senate Committee on Families, Mental Health and Human Services and the House Committee on Human Services and Children before that date.
Membership
The task force would consist of the following members:
-- The Director of the Department of State Police or the Director's designee.
-- The Director of the Family Independence Agency or the Director's designee.
-- The Director of the Department of Community Health or the Director's designee.
-- A member of the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan, appointed by that association's executive director.
-- The Michigan Children's Ombudsman or the Ombudsman's designee.
-- Three members of the general public, appointed by the Governor, with one member having training in child psychology.
-- One member of the Senate appointed by the Senate Majority Leader.
-- One member of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House.
Task force members would have to be appointed within 30 days after the bill's effective date, and would serve for the duration of the task force. If a vacancy occurred, the officer making the original appointment would have to make an appointment for the unexpired term in the same manner as the original appointment. The Governor, Senate Majority Leader, or Speaker of the House could remove members they appointed to the task force for incompetency; dereliction of duty; malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance in office; or any other good cause.
Operation
The task force's first meeting would have to be called by the Director of the Department of State Police. At that first meeting, a chairperson would have to be elected by a majority vote of the members attending. A majority of the members would constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at a task force meeting. A majority of the members present and serving would be required for official action of the task force.
The task force would have to comply with the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information Act.
Members of the task force would serve without compensation. Members appointed by the Governor, Senate Majority Leader, and Speaker of the House, however, could be reimbursed for their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties. The bill would appropriate in the Department of State Police's discretionary fund the money to pay those expenses. (The bill would not establish such a fund and no "discretionary fund" is provided for in the Department's budget.)
Powers and Duties
The missing children task force would have to do all of the following:
-- Identify the primary causes of missing children.
-- Determine the prevalence of voluntary disappearance, spousal abduction, and kidnapping of children, and explore and recommend a strategy to address those determinations.
-- Recommend legislation to: create a central clearinghouse to track missing children; ensure timely entry of missing children information into the Law Enforcement Information Network governed under the LEIN Policy Council Act; and improve procedures or programs to reduce the number of incidents of missing children.
- Legislative Analyst: P. Affholter
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would have a minimal fiscal impact on the State. Under the bill, task force members could receive expenses incurred in the performance of their responsibilities and it is assumed that the State would bear the cost of preparing the task force report. The bill specifies that funds for these expenses would be appropriated by the Department of State Police.
- Fiscal Analyst: B. Baker
S9798\S1123SA
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.