There has been much movement on the Kelsey Smith Act, or legislation modeled after the Kelsey Smith Act recently and we are excited with the news!

ALBERTA, CANADA
We reported last year that the province of Alberta, Canada, had a version of the Kelsey Smith Act (known as the Missing Persons Act, Bill 8) which had been sponsored by Assemblyman VanderBurg. Mr. VanderBurg read Kelsey's story and my emailed testimony into the record during the debate in Alberta.

The bill has passed in Alberta (May 10, 2011)but is not law - yet. The bill becomes law in Alberta "on proclamation." What that means is the bill has passed the legislative body (equivalent to our house and senate) and is now in the hands of the cabinet (the executive branch of the Alberta government). When the cabinet decides or "proclaims" that the law is in effect, then it will be a law. The good news is that it has been assigned a statute number - SA 2011 cM-18.5, a strong indication that it will eventually become law. The bad news is there is no time limit to make the proclamation. In other words, until the cabinet decided to make it a law it sits. It is passed but does not have the force of law. We will continue to watch this and let you know what happens.

HAWAII
The Committee on Public Safety, Government Operations, and Military Affairs unanimously passed SB 2247, the Hawaii legislation based on the Kelsey Smith Act, out of committee yesterday, 1/26/2012. Both Missey and Greg submitted written testimony to the committee. SB 2247 was dual referred and awaits a hearing in the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee. We will keep you updated on the progress of the bill and provide contact information for the committee members when a hearing date is scheduled.

MISSOURI A hearing will be held on Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at noon in the House Utilities Committee in Missouri on HB 1108, the Missouri version of the Kelsey Smith Act. This is the fourth time the bill has been offered, in various forms, in Missouri. We urge all Missouri residents, safety advocates and concerned citizens to contact members of the committee and urge them to pass HB 1108 out of committee. Both Greg and Missey will be in Jefferson City on Tuesday to testify in front of the committee. Contact information for the committee can be found here. Please contact the committee members and urge them to pass HB 1108.

ILLINOIS & MASSACHUSETTS
Both of these states have indicated they will be filing their version of the Kelsey Smith Act this session. More information will follow as it becomes available.