(a)For purposes of this section, “Ebony Alert” means a notification system, activated pursuant to subdivision (b), designed to issue and coordinate alerts with respect to Black youth, including young Black women and girls, who are reported missing under unexplained or suspicious circumstances, at risk, developmentally disabled, or cognitively impaired, or who have been abducted.
(b)
(1)If a person is reported missing to a law enforcement agency and that agency determines that the requirements of subdivision (c) are
met, the law enforcement agency may request the Department of the California Highway Patrol to activate an Ebony Alert. If the Department of the California Highway Patrol concurs that the requirements of subdivision (c) have been met, it shall activate an Ebony Alert wit
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(a)
For purposes of this section, “Ebony Alert” means a notification system, activated pursuant to subdivision (b), designed to issue and coordinate alerts with respect to Black youth, including young Black women and girls, who are reported missing under unexplained or suspicious circumstances, at risk, developmentally disabled, or cognitively impaired, or who have been abducted.
(b)
(1)
If a person is reported missing to a law enforcement agency and that agency determines that the requirements of subdivision (c) are
met, the law enforcement agency may request the Department of the California Highway Patrol to activate an Ebony Alert. If the Department of the California Highway Patrol concurs that the requirements of subdivision (c) have been met, it shall activate an Ebony Alert within the appropriate geographical area requested by the investigating law enforcement agency.
(2)
Radio, television, cable, satellite, and social media systems are encouraged to, but not required to, cooperate with disseminating the information contained in an Ebony Alert.
(3)
Upon activation of an Ebony Alert, the Department of the California Highway Patrol
shall
assist the investigating law enforcement agency by issuing a be-on-the-lookout alert, an electronic flyer, or changeable message signs in compliance with paragraph (4).
(4)
Upon activation of an Ebony Alert, the Department of the California Highway Patrol may use a changeable message sign if both of the following conditions are met:
(A)
A law enforcement agency determines that a vehicle may be involved in the missing person incident.
(B)
Specific identifying information about the vehicle is available for public dissemination.
(c)
A law enforcement agency may request that an Ebony Alert be activated if that agency determines that
there is information available that, if disseminated to the public, could assist in the safe recovery of the missing person, and the following conditions are met regarding the investigation of the missing person:
(1)
The missing person is between 12 to 25 years of age, inclusive.
(2)
The investigating law enforcement agency has used all available local resources and at least one of the following conditions are met:
(A)
The law enforcement agency determines that the person has gone missing under unexplained or suspicious circumstances, including circumstances that indicate any of the following:
(i)
The missing person’s physical safety may be endangered.
(ii)
The missing person may be subject to trafficking.
(B)
The law enforcement agency believes that the person is in danger because of age, health, mental or physical disability, environmental or weather conditions, that the person is in the company of a potentially dangerous person, or that there are other factors indicating that the person may be in peril.
(d)
Subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) shall be broadly construed in order to effectuate the legislative intent of this section.
(e)
The Department of the California Highway Patrol shall create and submit a report to the Governor’s office and the Legislature that includes an evaluation of the Ebony Alert, including the efficacy, the advantages, and the impact to other alert programs. The department shall submit the report to the Legislature in compliance with Section 9795 on or before July 1, 2027.