On July 21, the House approved, by voice vote, legislation (S. 1280) amending the Protect Act (Public Law 108-21), known as the “Amber Alert” bill.
Signed into law in April 2003, the Protect Act expanded the national AMBER alert communications network and established pilot programs for volunteer organizations. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, acting in liaison with the FBI, was authorized to obtain criminal background information and fingerprint checks on prospective volunteers. S. 1280, sponsored by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), limits the liability of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in cases where individuals are deemed “unfit to serve” as volunteers or where information from an individual’s criminal history record has influenced such a decision and allegedly caused harm.
