Bill > SJR112

Introduced Session

This joint resolution establishes a task force on missing women and girls who are Black, Indigenous, or people of color. The Centers for Disease Control has reported that murder is the third-leading cause of death among American Indian and Alaska Native women. Additionally, in a 2020 report by the Women's Media Center, it was reported there are approximately 64,000-75,000 missing Black women and girls across the United States. Cases involving BIPOC women and girls often are under-reported, do not receive the required level of attention by the media or law enforcement, and are categorized improperly by law enforcement officials. The systemic racism, sexism, and suppression experienced by BIPOC women and girls leads to worse health, wealth, housing, education, and employment outcomes. Furthermore, there is no comprehensive database regarding missing and murdered BIPOC women and girls. Creation of the task force on missing BIPOC women and girls will address these inequities. The task force will be responsible for: (1) developing policy recommendations to ensure first responders are culturally competent regarding the severity and impact of missing and murdered BIPOC women and girls on the communities and families affected; (2) developing training and education materials for BIPOC communities on methods of prevention and protection and social media protocols relating to missing BIPOC women and girls, and disseminating the materials in high-impact communities within the State; (3) developing strategies and recommendations for the Office of the Attorney General to collect statistics, demographics, surveys, and oral histories; conduct data analysis; and issue guidelines to ensure de-identified data is publicly available; (4) identifying traffic hubs, highways, and resource extraction sites that lead to or facilitate the abduction of BIPOC women and girls; and (5) creating a State-wide public awareness campaign. The task force will be comprised of 15 members, as follows:· the Attorney General or the Attorney General's designee, who shall serve ex officio; · the Commissioner of the Department of Children and Families or the commissioner's designee, who shall serve ex officio; · the Commissioner of the Department of Health or the commissioner's designee, who shall serve ex officio; · the Superintendent of State Police or the superintendent's designee, who shall serve ex officio; · the Director of the Division of Criminal Justice or the director's designee, who shall serve ex officio; · two members to be appointed by the President of the Senate; · two members to be appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate; · two members to be appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly; · two members to be appointed by the Minority Leader of the General Assembly; and · two members to be appointed by the Governor.

Committee Categories

Angela Mcknight (D)*,  Joe Lagana (D),  Raj Mukherji (D), 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Law and Public Safety Committee (on 05/09/2024)

Official Document