Bill > SJR39

Introduced Session

This bill establishes the "Williams and Amenhotep New Jersey Task Force on Missing Persons" to (1) review best practices for investigating reports of missing persons; (2) examine on a Statewide basis the current law enforcement response to reports of missing children by law enforcement agencies; and (3) determine whether the practices of State and local law enforcement agencies require any changes to conform to best practices. The task force membership would include: (1) the Attorney General, ex officio, or a designee: (2) the Commissioner of Children and Families, ex officio, or a designee; (3) the Commissioner of Human Services, ex officio, or a designee; (4) one member of the Missing Person's Unit of the Division of State Police in the Department of Law and Public Safety, designated by the Attorney General; (5) one member of the New Jersey Human Trafficking Task Force established within the Department of Law and Public Safety, designated by the Attorney General; (6) two public members appointed by the Governor representing a local law enforcement agency, one each based upon the recommendation of the Senate President and the Senate Minority Leader; (7) one public member appointed by the Governor representing a child advocacy organization concerning missing, abducted, or exploited children, based upon the recommendation of the Speaker of the General Assembly; and (8) one public member appointed by the Governor representing an organization concerning missing or trafficked persons, based upon the recommendation of the General Assembly Minority Leader. The bill provides that within 12 months after the task force's organizational meeting, it would be required to submit a written report to the Governor and to the Legislature. The report is to contain the task force's findings on best practices and the current law enforcement response to reports of missing persons in the State, and any recommendations for legislative or other action. Under the bill, the task force would dissolve three months after submitting the report. The task force is named in honor of two missing young people: Sanaa Amenhotep the 15 year-old daughter of a New Jersey resident who went missing in Columbia, South Carolina and whose body was found three weeks later; and Yasir Williams, a 21 year-old Rutgers University student from East Orange, New Jersey whose body was found in a park pond in Orange, New Jersey two weeks after he went missing.

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Britnee Timberlake (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Law and Public Safety Committee (on 01/09/2024)

Official Document