Time for Gray Davis to sign the Amber plan

I heard on some talk show that there is a passed bill on Gray Davis' desk awaiting signature to implement the Amber Plan in California.

Basically, Child Abduction Alerts would be sent over the EAS system in short order, with a TV scroll and interupting radios broadcasts in the selected area.

The Federal Communications Commission has adopted a Report and Order amending the Emergency Alert System (EAS) rules. The Commission adopted several new EAS event and location codes, which broadcast stations and cable systems may use to alert the public in the event of state and local emergencies, including a new Child Abduction Emergency event code which may be used to activate AMBER Plans.

The AMBER Plan is a voluntary partnership between law-enforcement agencies and the media used to alert the public of serious child abduction cases, where police believe that the child is in danger of bodily harm or death. Under the AMBER Plan, radio and television stations interrupt programming to disseminate information concerning serious child abduction using the EAS. Adoption of the new Child Abduction Emergency event code responds to concerns that the current practice of using the Civil Emergency Message event code to activate AMBER alerts has resulted in confusion as to the intent of the alert.

The revised EAS rules permit, but do not require, broadcast stations and cable systems to modify their existing EAS equipment so that the equipment is capable of receiving and transmitting the new event and location codes. However, new EAS equipment installed by broadcast stations and cable systems after February 1, 2004, must be able to receive and transmit the new codes.

The Report and Order also increases the time period within which Required Monthly Tests of the EAS must be retransmitted from 15 to 60 minutes. Further, it authorizes cable and wireless cable systems serving fewer than 5,000 subscribers to install an FCC- certified EAS decoder only, rather than both an encoder and decoder, if certified decoders become available by October 1, 2002. The order also exempts low-power FM stations from the Commission requirement to install an FCC-certified decoder until one year after any such decoders are certified by the Commission. Meanwhile, broadcast satellite and repeater stations, which rebroadcast 100% of the programming of their hub station, will now be exempt from the requirement to install EAS equipment.

Press Release - 3/23/01 RUNNER WORKS TO USE EMERGENCY BROADCAST SYSTEM TO LOCATE MISSING KIDS Runner Urges Governor to Adopt Plan Used in Other States

Lancaster - Assemblyman George Runner (R-Lancaster) today announced his resolution that calls on the Governor to adopt a statewide plan that uses the Emergency Broadcast System to locate abducted children.

"The general public could hear immediately on the radio or television the description and other important details about a child who has just been kidnapped," Runner said. "The lives of a lot of children could be saved by using the emergency broadcast system."

House Resolution 8 requests that Governor Davis and the Office of Emergency Services establish a program similar to The Amber Plan, Oklahoma's early warning system used by law enforcement to alert the general public when a child has been kidnapped.

It was first created in Dallas, Texas after Amber Hagerman, a 9-year-old girl from Arlington, Texas, was abducted from her home and later found murdered. The alert system in that area has been credited with the safe recovery of at least five children.

Orange County currently operates the Child Abduction Regional Emergency Alert Program (C.A.R.E.), a countywide pilot project modeled after the Texas program to aid in the recovery of kidnapped children.

The Amber Plan is activated when a report of a kidnapped child is received by law enforcement. A warning is then immediately delivered to all radio and television stations in the state. Participating stations then sound the alert one time every half-hour for the first two hours, then one time per hour for the next three hours. If the child is recovered during the alert's activation, the alert is cancelled.

Nearly 2,100 child abductions were reported to law enforcement across the country each day last year. According to the California Missing and Unidentified Persons System, 1,989 child abduction cases were reported in California last year. In Los Angeles County alone, 657 child abduction cases were reported.

You Know, yesterday, Marc Klass was on KFBK with Tom Sullivan, and stated that a person, female, was implimenting the program, and she was transferred. It rests with Attorney General Bill Lockyear's office to complete the program and get it in full operation. Many media stations, have the equipment ready to go, but no finalization. So get on the horn to the Attorney General's office of Bill Lockyear. Or call Tom Sullivan of KFBK and verify. Also, Marc Klass is designing a website and I forgot the link. But may be link on Tom's site. I will post when I get it, or someone else has it?

He will sign anything for a contribution. Since nobody seems to be bidding against you $100K should be enough. Good Luck with your fundraiser.

So that the people can round up a posse and go get the bastards? Sounds good to me. Saddle up, and don't forget the Winchester.

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