1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to public safety; establishing a grant program to assist local law 
1.3 	enforcement agencies to develop or expand lifesaver programs that locate senior 
1.4 	citizens who are mentally impaired; establishing a working group to study and 
1.5 	make recommendations on establishing a Silver Alert system; authorizing 
1.6 	rulemaking; requiring a report; appropriating money;proposing coding for new 
1.7 	law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 299C.
1.8 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.9 	Section 1. [299C.563] SENIOR CITIZEN LIFESAVER GRANT PROGRAM.
1.10 		Subdivision 1.Grant program. The commissioner of public safety shall establish a 
1.11 	senior citizen lifesaver grant program to assist local law enforcement agencies with the 
1.12 	costs of developing lifesaver rapid response programs designed to quickly find missing 
1.13 	persons who are senior citizens with dementia, traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer's disease, 
1.14 	or other mental disabilities. The search and rescue program must electronically track a 
1.15 	lost or missing senior citizen who is mentally impaired due to autism, Down Syndrome, 
1.16 	Alzheimer's disease, or other mental impairment. The lifesaver program participant wears 
1.17 	a small transmitter on the wrist to allow the local law enforcement agency to electronically 
1.18 	locate the participant, if necessary, using a radio receiver. Grants may be awarded to new 
1.19 	and existing programs. The commissioner shall administer and promote the grant program 
1.20 	throughout the state and serve as liaison to lifesaver programs.
1.21 		Subd. 2.Application; eligibility. A county law enforcement agency or two or more 
1.22 	county or county and city law enforcement agencies may apply to the commissioner of 
1.23 	public safety for a grant in a form and manner established by the commissioner. The 
1.24 	application must include:
1.25 	(1) an estimate of the number of people who might qualify for lifesaver assistance;
2.1 	(2) an estimate of the start-up cost for new programs or expansion costs for existing 
2.2 	programs;
2.3 	(3) a statement of the number of personnel available for tracking lost persons;
2.4 	(4) a statement of available local funding sources; and
2.5 	(5) other information requested by the commissioner.
2.6 		Subd. 3.Grant awards. To the extent funds are available, the commissioner may 
2.7 	award grants of up to $4,000 to eligible applicants to develop a new senior citizen lifesaver 
2.8 	program and up to $2,000 to eligible applicants to expand an existing program. If eligible 
2.9 	applicants exceed the funds available, all grants must be reduced proportionately so that 
2.10 	each eligible applicant receives the same proportion of the amount for which the applicant 
2.11 	was eligible. Recipients developing a new senior citizen lifesaver program shall be given 
2.12 	priority over recipients expanding an existing program. Grant recipients must be located 
2.13 	throughout the state to the extent feasible and consistent with this section.
2.14 		Subd. 4.Uses of grant award. (a) A grant recipient may use an award only for 
2.15 	the following:
2.16 	(1) to purchase emergency response kits, which shall include, at a minimum, 
2.17 	equipment necessary to track and triangulate searches, transmitters, receivers, or any 
2.18 	other related equipment; and
2.19 	(2) to train search personnel.
2.20 	(b) A grant recipient shall manage and provide for the operating costs of the senior 
2.21 	citizen lifesaver program after its initial development or expansion based on whether the 
2.22 	grant is to develop a new program or expand an existing program.
2.23 		Subd. 5.Lifesaver grant program account. The senior citizen lifesaver grant 
2.24 	program account is established in the state treasury. The account shall consist of 
2.25 	contributions from private sources and state money when appropriated. Money deposited 
2.26 	in the account is appropriated to the commissioner of public safety for the purposes of 
2.27 	this section. Money in the account that is not expended in the fiscal year in which it is 
2.28 	appropriated does not revert to the general fund but is available until expended.
2.29 		Subd. 6.Rulemaking authority. The commissioner of public safety may adopt 
2.30 	rules under chapter 14 as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this section 
2.31 	including, at least, the annual deadline for submitting applications for a grant, procedures 
2.32 	for reporting search and rescue statistics using technology obtained with a grant, and 
2.33 	procedures for implementing or expanding a senior citizen lifesaver program.
2.34 		Subd. 7.Report by local agencies. A grant recipient shall file a report with the 
2.35 	commissioner itemizing the expenditures made to develop or expand its senior citizen 
3.1 	lifesaver program and how the recipient will provide for continued operating costs of the 
3.2 	program.
3.3 		Subd. 8.Report to legislature. The commissioner shall report to the house of 
3.4 	representatives and senate committees with jurisdiction over public safety by January 15, 
3.5 	2018, on the coordination and implementation of senior citizen lifesaver programs and the 
3.6 	implementation, use, and administration of the grant program under this section. 

3.7 	Sec. 2. SILVER ALERT SYSTEM; WORKING GROUP.
 3.8 		Subdivision 1.Working group established; study required. The commissioner 
3.9 	of public safety shall convene a working group to study the state's need for a Silver 
3.10 	Alert system to aid in the recovery of missing persons who are senior citizens with 
3.11 	dementia, traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer's disease, or other mental disabilities. If the 
3.12 	working group concludes that the state needs a Silver Alert system, the group shall make 
3.13 	recommendations on the establishment of a Silver Alert system including, but not limited 
3.14 	to, criteria for activating the system. When studying this issue, the working group shall 
3.15 	assess the state's current notification systems used to locate missing persons, including the 
3.16 	state's Amber Alert system, and examine alert systems from other states to determine the 
3.17 	most successful methods for locating missing vulnerable senior citizens.
3.18 		Subd. 2.Membership. The working group shall include the commissioner or 
3.19 	a designee, the superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Amber 
3.20 	Alert coordinator, and representatives of the following groups: Elder Care Alliance, 
3.21 	the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association, the Minnesota Sheriffs' Association, the 
3.22 	Minnesota Broadcasters Association, the Minnesota Department of Transportation, the 
3.23 	Alzheimer's Association, and the Traumatic Brain Injury Organization. The commissioner 
3.24 	shall ensure that the working group has expertise and a broad range of interests represented.
3.25 		Subd. 3.Administrative issues. The commissioner shall convene the first meeting 
3.26 	of the working group by September 15, 2015. The Department of Public Safety shall 
3.27 	provide meeting space and administrative support to the working group. The working 
3.28 	group shall select a chair from among its members.
3.29 		Subd. 4.Report and draft legislation required. By January 15, 2016, the working 
3.30 	group shall submit a report to the chairs and ranking minority members of the senate and 
3.31 	house of representatives committees and divisions with jurisdiction over public safety and 
3.32 	human services. The report must summarize the working group's activities and include 
3.33 	its recommendations. The recommendations must be specific and include estimates of 
3.34 	the costs involved in implementing the recommendations, including funding sources. In 
3.35 	addition, the report must include draft legislation to implement the recommendations.

4.1 	Sec. 3. APPROPRIATION.
 4.2 	$....... in fiscal year 2016 and $....... in fiscal year 2017 are appropriated from the 
4.3 	general fund to the commissioner of public safety for the purposes of the lifesaver grant 
4.4 	program under section 1.