Conference committee adds 'feather alert' for missing Indigenous people, requires at least one public notification method

Members of the conference committee on House Bill 1535 on Monday approved amendments that create a "feather alert" — a missing endangered persons notice for people of Indigenous background — and require authorities to "shall use at least 1 mode of communication" when issuing alerts defined in the bill.

The change was offered and explained by Senator Rohrs, who said the amendment would replace language that "may use multiple modes" with a requirement that the Bureau of Criminal Investigation, in cooperation with the Highway Patrol, the Department of Emergency Services and local law enforcement, "shall use at least 1 mode of communication for alerts defined in this section, including but not limited to" a specified list of channels.

Committee members said the amendment is intended to close a gap in the state's alert system for adults who are neither Amber nor Silver Alert cases and to raise awareness when the missing person is of Indigenous heritage. The draft adds a definition for a feather alert that uses the same activation criteria as a missing endangered persons alert but labels alerts for people of Indigenous background differently to increase visibility.

Senator Rohrs told the panel that the draft allows alerts to include Indigenous languages "when available" but avoids making translation a prerequisite so notifications are not delayed. The bill also directs the Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) and the Highway Patrol to provide an annual report to the Indian Affairs Commission on the effectiveness and implementation of the feather alert and calls for annual public meetings with each tribe to present findings.

Lieutenant Jenna Clawson of the Highway Patrol, who oversees the state's alerts program, told the committee that the proposed requirement "could be used in the other alerts" and that the agency already follows an operational plan for Amber, Blue and Silver alerts. Clawson said the operational plan is routinely used when cases do not meet wireless emergency alert (WEA) criteria and that local "code red" or reverse-911 systems are among tools counties now use.

The amendment specifies several notification channels — the Emergency Alert System (EAS), the national information system for travel, digital highway message signs, local alerting systems if available, local and state jurisdiction websites, and social media platforms — and was intentionally worded to permit other effective methods beyond that list.

After discussion about whether the code language should apply only to feather and missing endangered person alerts or to all alert types, the committee adopted wording that applies to the alerts "defined in this section." Senator Rohrs moved the revision; the motion was seconded and carried by roll call. The committee then voted to give the amended bill a due pass; that motion also carried on a roll call vote. The committee recorded yea votes from Chairman Carls; Representative Christiansen; Representative Wolf; Senator Rohrs; Senator Brownberger; and Senator Wallen.

The committee named Nels as the carrier who will carry the bill in the House. No implementation deadline or specific WEA activation criteria were added in the meeting transcript; the operational plan remains the mechanism for notifications that do not meet WEA thresholds.

The committee proceedings also note that Senate Bill 2098 had become law in the intervening timeframe and that portions of the Century Code referenced in the House-drafted amendment were updated accordingly.