[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 799 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 799

 To require Federal agencies to establish procedures to facilitate the 
  safe recovery of children reported missing within a public building.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 7, 2003

   Mr. Hatch introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require Federal agencies to establish procedures to facilitate the 
  safe recovery of children reported missing within a public building.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Code Adam Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act, the following definitions apply:
            (1) Child.--The term ``child'' means an individual who is 
        17 years of age or younger.
            (2) Code adam alert.--The term ``Code Adam alert'' means a 
        set of procedures used in public buildings to alert employees 
        and other users of the building that a child is missing.
            (3) Designated authority.--The term ``designated 
        authority'' means--
                    (A) with respect to a public building owned or 
                leased for use by an Executive agency--
                            (i) except as otherwise provided in this 
                        paragraph, the Administrator of General 
                        Services;
                            (ii) in the case of the John F. Kennedy 
                        Center for the Performing Arts, the Board of 
                        Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the 
                        Performing Arts;
                            (iii) in the case of buildings under the 
                        jurisdiction, custody, and control of the 
                        Smithsonian Institution, the Board of Regents 
                        of the Smithsonian Institution; or
                            (iv) in the case of another public building 
                        for which an Executive agency has, by specific 
                        or general statutory authority, jurisdiction, 
                        custody, and control over the building, the 
                        head of that agency;
                    (B) with respect to a public building owned or 
                leased for use by an establishment in the judicial 
                branch of government, the Administrative Office of the 
                United States Courts; and
                    (C) with respect to a public building owned or 
                leased for use by an establishment in the legislative 
                branch of government, the Capitol Police Board.
            (4) Executive agency.--The term ``Executive agency'' has 
        the same meaning such term has under section 105 of title 5, 
        United States Code.
            (5) Federal agency.--The term ``Federal agency'' means any 
        Executive agency or any establishment in the legislative or 
        judicial branches of the Government.
            (6) Public building.--The term ``public building'' means 
        any building (or portion thereof) owned or leased for use by a 
        Federal agency.

SEC. 3. PROCEDURES IN PUBLIC BUILDINGS REGARDING A MISSING OR LOST 
              CHILD.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the designated authority for a public building 
shall establish procedures for locating a child that is missing in the 
building.
    (b) Notification and Search Procedures.--Procedures established 
under this section shall provide, at a minimum, for the following:
            (1) Notifying security personnel that a child is missing.
            (2) Obtaining a detailed description of the child, 
        including name, age, eye and hair color, height, weight, 
        clothing, and shoes.
            (3) Issuing a Code Adam alert and providing a description 
        of the child, using a fast and effective means of 
        communication.
            (4) Establishing a central point of contact.
            (5) Monitoring all points of egress from the building while 
        a Code Adam alert is in effect.
            (6) Conducting a thorough search of the building.
            (7) Contacting local law enforcement.
            (8) Documenting the incident.
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