Committee adopts amendment, lays over bill that would let families access old missing‑person files after 20 years

The committee considered House File 18‑93 on April 3, a bill aimed at giving families of long‑term missing persons controlled access to investigative files two decades after a disappearance. Members adopted a DE1 amendment and then laid the bill over for further work.

Chair McDonald and Representative McDonald described the bill as a response to families who, after many years, remain without information about a relative’s disappearance. Representative McDonald said the bill would reduce the period before families could seek access from 30 years to 20 years to provide an opportunity for closure and follow‑up investigation. “There’s a loophole, there’s a little black hole in the law,” Representative McDonald said, describing a family whose son disappeared in 2002 and for whom “23 years later, the family has no information on the investigation.”

The DE1 amendment preserves law enforcement discretion to withhold material if an investigation remains active and clarifies who may receive files. Joshua Newville, an attorney representing the Guillemot family, told the committee the bill “works with law enforcement, not against” and would permit families to review investigative files under controlled conditions through licensed attorneys or investigators. “The goal here is not exposure. It is closure,” Newville said.

Committee members raised concerns about potential misuse if a family member were also a suspect or person of interest. Representative Mueller asked whether family representatives could be barred from accessing documents when they are suspects; Newville and Representative McDonald said the bill contains guardrails, and law enforcement can reclassify a case as a criminal investigation if there is evidence to support that step. Representative Neumeister and others suggested procedural language to provide basic status information to requesters (for example, whether an agency is actively pursuing the case and who is assigned).

After discussion, the committee laid HF 18‑93 over so sponsors and stakeholders could resolve concerns about definitions and guardrails. The transcript records adoption of the DE1 amendment by voice vote earlier in the hearing; the final committee action was to lay the bill over, not to pass it.

The bill remains under consideration and could return to committee with clarified definitions and additional procedural safeguards.