Committee backs missing‑persons alerts expansion; privacy and surveillance concerns surface

The House Community Safety Committee heard lengthy testimony on Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill 60 70, a package that would (1) authorize limited court‑authorized use of pen registers, trap‑and‑trace and cell‑site simulator devices for community‑caretaking missing‑person searches with 48‑hour judicial review; (2) create two new alert designations — "ebony" alerts for missing Black persons and "purple" alerts for missing people with disabilities — within Washington's Endangered Missing Person Advisory plan; and (3) shift responsibility for the statewide missing‑person website to the Washington State Patrol.