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Committee advances bill to expand 'silver' alerts to people with cognitive disabilities and require training; sponsors rename program "Safe Alert"
Summary
House Bill 2894, renamed in committee to create a "Safe Alert" and broaden alerts to missing people with cognitive disabilities of any age, was advanced after emotional testimony from families and adjustments to training frequency and terminology.
The Senate Public Safety Committee advanced House Bill 2894 — renamed in committee as the "Safe Alert" and designated the "Seek and Find Emergency Act" under an adopted amendment — which expands the state's missing‑person alert system to make alerts immediately available for any missing person who meets the bill’s cognitive or developmental criteria.
Representative Powell's staff described the three‑page Payne amendment adopted by the committee, which renames the Silver Alert to Safe Alert, expands training requirements to include communications and dispatch staff, specifies training at hire and biannually thereafter, and explicitly adds "cognitive disability" to the definitions to ensure law enforcement understands the covered populations.
Multiple witnesses testified in support. Anika Robinson, a foster‑care nonprofit volunteer, said the expansion was necessary because some people who meet the statutory qualifications still face barriers to receiving alerts. Layla Woodard, founder of a missing‑children task force and mother of a child with autism, said agencies have "continued to decline or not issue timely silver alerts because a child or person has had past elopement episodes," and urged lawmakers to require issuance without administrative delay. Alyssa Zuccoli delivered emotional testimony describing the repeated denials and delays her son faced; she said a silver alert was withheld in a critical episode and that lack of timely action contributed to a preventable death.
Jen Morrison of the Arizona Sheriffs Association said her group participated in stakeholder meetings and supported the amendment that adjusts training timing and the name change. The committee adopted the Payne amendment and gave HB 2894 a due‑pass recommendation (reported tally 6 ayes, 0 nays, 1 not voting).
Representative Powell's staff and witnesses said the measure is intended to close gaps between the statutory definition and law enforcement practice and to ensure alerts are not delayed by administrative processes or prior missing episodes.
