North Carolina HB 698: Center for Missing Persons to Highway Patrol.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 2
HOUSE BILL 698
Committee Substitute Favorable 4/30/25

Short Title: Center for Missing Persons to Highway Patrol. (Public)
Sponsors:
Referred to:
April 3, 2025
*H698-v-2*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO TRANSFER THE NORTH CAROLINA CENTER FOR MISSING PERSONS TO 2
THE STATE HIGHWAY PATROL. 3
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4
SECTION 1. All functions, powers, duties, and obligations vested in the North 5
Carolina Center for Missing Persons in the Department of Public Safety are transferred to, vested 6
in, and consolidated within the State Highway Patrol by a Type I transfer, as defined in 7
G.S. 143A-6. 8
SECTION 2. Article 17 of Chapter 143B of the General Statutes, as enacted by S.L. 9
2024-57, is amended by adding a new Part 4 to be entitled "North Carolina Center for Missing 10
Persons." 11
SECTION 3. Subpart B of Part 5 of Article 13 of Chapter 143B of the General 12
Statutes is recodified as Part 4 of Article 17 of Chapter 143B of the General Statutes, as enacted 13
by S.L. 2024-57, as follows: 14
Former Citation Recodified Citation 15
143B-1010 143B-1760 16
143B-1011 143B-1761 17
143B-1012 143B-1762 18
143B-1013 143B-1763 19
143B-1014 143B-1764 20
143B-1015 143B-1765 21
143B-1016 143B-1766 22
143B-1017 143B-1767 23
143B-1018 143B-1768 24
143B-1019 143B-1769 25
143B-1020 143B-1770 26
143B-1021 143B-1771 27
143B-1022 143B-1772 28
143B-1023 143B-1773 29
SECTION 4. Part 4 of Article 17 of Chapter 143B of the General Statutes, as 30
recodified by Section 3 of this act, reads as rewritten: 31
"Part 4. North Carolina Center for Missing Persons. 32
"§ 143B-1760. North Carolina Center for Missing Persons established. 33
There is established within the Department of Public Safety State Highway Patrol the North 34
Carolina Center for Missing Persons, which shall be organized and staffed in accordance with 35
applicable laws. The purpose of the Center is to serve as a central repository for information 36

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 698-Second Edition
regarding missing persons and missing children, with special emphasis on missing children. The 1
Center may utilize the Federal Bureau of Investigation/National Crime Information Center's 2
missing person computerized file (hereinafter referred to as FBI/NCIC) through the use of the 3
Police Information Network in the North Carolina Department of Justice. 4
... 5
"§ 143B-1762. Control of the Center. 6
The Center is under the direction of the Secretary of the Department of Public Safety 7
Commander of the State Highway Patrol and may be organized and structured in a manner as the 8
Secretary deems appropriate to ensure that the objectives of the Center are achieved. The 9
Secretary Commander may employ those Center personnel as the General Assembly may 10
authorize and provide funding for. 11
"§ 143B-1763. Secretary Commander to adopt rules. 12
The Secretary Commander of the State Highway Patrol shall adopt rules prescribing all of 13
the following: 14
(1) Procedures for accepting and disseminating information maintained at the 15
Center. 16
(2) The confidentiality of the data and information, including the missing person 17
report, maintained by the Center. 18
(3) The proper disposition of all obsolete data, including the missing person 19
report; provided, data for an individual who has reached the age of 18 and 20
remains missing must be preserved. 21
(4) Procedures allowing a communication link with the Police Information 22
Network and the FBI/NCIC's missing person file to ensure compliance with 23
FBI/NCIC policies. 24
(5) Forms, including but not limited to a missing person report, considered 25
necessary for the efficient and proper operation of the Center. 26
... 27
"§ 143B-1765. Dissemination of missing persons data by law-enforcement agencies. 28
... 29
If the report involves a missing child and the report meets the criteria established in 30
G.S. 143B-1021(b), G.S. 143B-1771(b), as soon as practicable after receipt of the report, the law 31
enforcement agency shall notify the Center and the National Center for Missing and Exploited 32
Children of the relevant data about the missing child. 33
... 34
"§ 143B-1766. Responsibilities of Center. 35
The Center shall do all of the following: 36
... 37
(9) Maintain a directory of existing public and private agencies, groups, and 38
individuals that provide effective assistance to families in the areas of 39
prevention of child abduction, location of missing children and missing 40
persons, and follow-up services to the child or person and family, as 41
determined by the Secretary of Public Safety.Commander of the State 42
Highway Patrol. 43
... 44
(13) Perform such other activities that the Secretary of Public Safety Commander 45
of the State Highway Patrol considers necessary to carry out the intent of its 46
mandate. 47
... 48
"§ 143B-1768. Release of information by Center. 49
The following may make inquiri