Provides for the creation of an ebony alert system to be activated on behalf of Black youth who are reported missing under unexplained or suspicious circumstances, at risk, developmentally disabled, or cognitively impaired, or who have been abducted.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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6865--A
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
March 25, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sens. WEBB, COMRIE, FERNANDEZ, GONZALEZ, LIU, RAMOS --
read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to
the Committee on Codes -- recommitted to the Committee on Codes in
accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to the creation of a
"ebony alert system" for missing Black youth
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The executive law is amended by adding a new section
2 837-f-3 to read as follows:
3 § 837-f-3. Ebony alert system. 1. The division of criminal justice
4 services, through the missing children clearinghouse and in consultation
5 with the division of state police, shall establish and maintain an ebony
6 alert system on behalf of Black youth, to provide prompt dissemination
7 of information to the public regarding missing persons who meet the
8 criteria established pursuant to this section.
9 2. A law enforcement agency investigating a missing person case may
10 request activation of an ebony alert through the missing children clear-
11 inghouse. Upon receipt of such request, the division, through the miss-
12 ing children clearinghouse and in coordination with the division of
13 state police, shall evaluate the request and determine whether acti-
14 vation criteria have been met.
15 3. An ebony alert may be activated when the division determines that:
16 (a) the missing person is twelve to twenty-five years of age, inclu-
17 sive;
18 (b) the disappearance of such person is unexplained or suspicious;
19 (c) the missing person suffers from a mental or physical disability;
20 (d) the missing person may be at risk of harm, including but not
21 limited to trafficking, exploitation, or other criminal activity;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09408-03-6
S. 6865--A 2
1 (e) the individual is believed to be in danger or otherwise in peril;
2 and
3 (f) sufficient descriptive information is available that dissemination
4 to the public could assist in the safe recovery of such person.
5 4. Upon activation of an ebony alert, the division may disseminate
6 information regarding the missing person through appropriate communi-
7 cations systems, including but not limited to:
8 (a) law enforcement communications networks;
9 (b) broadcast and digital media outlets;
10 (c) wireless emergency alerts or other public alert notification
11 systems;
12 (d) internet or social media platforms utilized by the division or
13 participating agencies; and
14 (e) other public notification systems utilized by the missing children
15 clearinghouse.
16 5. In implementing the ebony alert system, the division shall coordi-
17 nate with the division of state police, the division of homeland securi-
18 ty and emergency services, the department of transportation, local law
19 enforcement agencies, and other appropriate entities involved in missing
20 persons investigations.
21 6. The department of transportation may assist in disseminating ebony
22 alert information through dynamic message signs or other highway commu-
23 nication systems, provided that such use complies with applicable feder-
24 al laws and regulations governing highway signage.
25 7. When the division determines that a missing person subject to an
26 ebony alert may have crossed jurisdictional boundaries, the division may
27 coordinate with law enforcement agencies in other states or jurisdic-
28 tions to disseminate alert information and facilitate recovery.
29 8. In administering the ebony alert system, the division shall ensure
30 that dissemination of information is conducted in a manner consistent
31 with applicable state and federal privacy laws and regulations and that
32 information released to the public is limited to that necessary to
33 assist in the recovery of the missing person.
34 9. The commissioner, in consultation with the division of state police
35 and the missing children clearinghouse, shall promulgate rules and regu-
36 lations necessary to implement the provisions of this section.
37 10. The ebony alert system established pursuant to this section shall
38 operate in coordination with other statewide missing persons alert
39 systems administered by the division. The division shall determine
40 whether activation of an ebony alert is appropriate when the circum-
41 stances of the disappearance do not meet the criteria for activation of
42 another missing persons alert system administered by the division. Noth-
43 ing in this section shall be construed to permit the simultaneous acti-
44 vation of multiple statewide alert systems for the same missing person.
45 § 2. The commissioner of the division of criminal justice services
46 shall submit an annual report to the governor and legislature regarding
47 the activities of the ebony alert system, including statistical informa-
48 tion involving reported cases of missing individuals that meet the
49 criteria established under section 837-f-3 of the executive law and a
50 summary of the division's efforts with respect to the activities author-
51 ized under this act.
52 § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
53 have become a law.
