Post by lace on Nov 4, 2006 20:06:57 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]Even if not for New Jersy one can write in support of this important Bill. We should try to get this every State.[/glow]
[glow=red,2,300]"Patricia's Law"
{The Patricia Marie Viola Missing Web Site}[/glow]
patriciaviolamissing.homestead.com/Patricias_Law.html
[glow=red,2,300]Background[/glow]
[glow=red,2,300]"Patricia's Law"[/glow]
and the majority of its language were born over a year ago in April 2005 as Model Legislation at the first National Strategy Meeting on identifying the Missing. At this conference, the National Criminal Justice Reference Service brought together Federal, State and Local Law Enforcement, medical examiners and coroners, victim's advocates, forensic scientists, key policymakers and families who have lived through this tragic experience to develop the baseline Missing Persons' Model Legislation. The Model was now ready for the next step.
[glow=red,2,300]ProjectJason.org, [/glow] www.projectjason.org/
a not for profit Missing Persons organization, facilitated the next step and called for volunteers in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia to retain a Sponsor to support the Model Missing Persons' Legislation at the state level. Campaign for the Missing 2006, a grassroots effort, was born and volunteers came forward from many states to take the Model Legislation, tailor it for their respective state, retain a Sponsor and forge it into law. Patricia's husband, Jim Viola, took on New Jersey and State Senator Loretta Weinberg (Distict 37) and her staff immediately embraced the new proposed Legislation, making NJ the first state to obtain sponsorship and making it a reason for all of us to be proud. New Jersey is on it's way to passing some much needed new Missing Person Legislation as Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri-Huttle has sponsored the identical proposed bill in the Assembly.
learn more about New Jersey's Legislative Process. www.njleg.state.nj.us/legislativepub/legprocess.asp
[glow=red,2,300]Introduction[/glow]
The key points of "Patricia's Law" are as follows:
- A law enforcement agency shall accept without delay any report of a missing person and cannot refuse to accept such reports.
- Provides a detailed breakout of the specific information to be gathered and recorded by law enforcement about the missing person
- Improves the system of communication between law enforcement and the person
making the report, a family member, or any other person in a position to assist law enforcement in locacting the missing person, including informing the person filing the missing persons report of the existence of two clearing houses for missing person's information. If the person reported missing is age 17 or under, the person filing the report shall be provided with contact information for the
[glow=red,2,300]National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.[/glow]
www.ncmec.org/
If the person reported missing is age 18 or older, the person filing the report shall be provided with contact information for the
[glow=red,2,300]National Center for Missing Adults.[/glow]
www.theyaremissed.org/ncma/index.php
- Law enforcement shall immediately determine if the missing person is deemed "high-risk" and if so shall notify the NJ State Police Missing Persons Unit for further immediate action, including, but not limited to activation of the Amber Alert program for the State.
- The Attorney General will provide information to local law enforcement concerning best practices and protocols for handling death scene investigations.
- Improve procedures for handling human remains and communication with the family.
Click here to read the complete proposed version of "Patricia's Law" Legislation.
www.njleg.state.nj.us/2006/Bills/S2500/2255_I1.PDF
[glow=red,2,300]"Patricia's Law" [/glow]strives to give hope to families of the missing and keeps the families actively
engaged in helping to bring home their missing loved one.
[glow=red,2,300]Timeline of Events[/glow]
Jan. 7, 2006
Contacted Senator Loretta Weinberg and requested support on the subject Model Missing Persons' Legislation.
Jan. 13, 2006
Received a very positive response from Senator Loretta Weinberg
and was informed that her staff will start to review the proposal
submitted immediately.
Jan. 31, 2006
Senator Loretta Weinberg's staff informed me that she will be
sponsoring the proposed Model Missing Persons' Legislation. The
Model Missing Persons' Legislation is moved to the Research/Drafting stage as it icompared with existing laws.
April 13, 2006
Senator Loretta Weinberg's staff confirmed that the proposed Model Missing Persons' Legislation will be known as "Patricia's Law".
Oct. 6, 2006
Draft of "Patricia's Law" completed.
Oct. 16, 2006
"Patricia's Law" formally introduced to the full NJ Senate at the
212th Legislature (first reading) and is assigned Senate Bill
No. S2255 and referred to the Senate Law, Public Safety and Veteran Affairs Committee for vote.
Oct. 19, 2006
Senator Loretta Weinberg, Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri-Huttle and Jim Viola held a Press Conference held in front
of Jim's home to formally announce the introduction of "Patricia's
Law" into the NJ Senate. The Bogota Police and Bergen County
Prosecutors Office also participated and supported the Press Conference as did Sen. Weinberg's staff.
see web site for Video of Press Conference and for Audio comments by Jim Viola at the Press Conference.http://patriciaviolamissing.homestead.com/Patricias_Law.html
- Photos from Press Conference: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7
Oct. 23. 2006
Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri-Huttle Sponsors an identical version of "Patricia's Law" in the Assembly in the legislature and introduces it as Assembly Bill A3643 or"Patricia's Law" and referred to the Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee for
vote.
Oct. 25, 2006
"The Record" covered the 10/19/06 Press Conference in the Bergen and Passaic County Editions on Oct. 25, 2006.
The Record article and review additional links added by Jim Viola.
patriciaviolamissing.homestead.com/Bergen_Record_Press_Conference_Coverage_Oct_25_2006.pdf
What New Jersey Residents can do to help pass "Patricia's Law"
1. Become familiar with "Patricia's Law".
2. Write letters to your District Senator and Assemblymen and Assemblywoman to request their
support when "Patricia's Law" comes to VOTE.
Go here for a sample letter. (Log your letters sent on this page's Guestbook. patriciaviolamissing.homestead.com/Patricias_Law_Sample_Letter_to_NJ_Legislator.doc
3. Before selecting who to write to rememeber that "Patricia's Law" must be passed out of each respective committee first. Use the links below to list all respective committees then select Senate Law, Public Safety and Veteran Affairs Committee and Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee. The members will be listed. Clicking on each member will give you their District and contact information.
- NJ Assembly Committees.
www.njleg.state.nj.us/committees/assembly.asp
- NJ Senate Committees.
www.njleg.state.nj.us/committees/senate.asp
- find the District that you reside in.
www.njleg.state.nj.us/districts/municipalities.asp
- find your Legislator.
www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/legsearch.asp
NOTE
If you reside in a District who has a member on the above Senate or Assembly committees mentioned, it is very important that you cotact him or her first so they can pass it out of the committee. Even if your representatives are not in the committee, it is still very important that you contact them as soon as possible and explain how important it is that they VOTE YES to "Patricia's Law" when it is presented to them. It is advisable to include a copy of the "Patricia's Law" Legislation (S2255 for Senators and A3643 for Assemblymen and woman).
[glow=red,2,300]THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR THE SUPPORT IN THIS IMPORTANT INITIATIVE ![/glow]
[glow=red,2,300]FACT: [/glow]Since 2000, New Jersey has almost 1700 active unsolved missing person cases. {Patricia Viola is one of them} Source: New Jersey State Police Missing Persons Unit
[glow=red,2,300]"Patricia's Law"
{The Patricia Marie Viola Missing Web Site}[/glow]
patriciaviolamissing.homestead.com/Patricias_Law.html
[glow=red,2,300]Background[/glow]
[glow=red,2,300]"Patricia's Law"[/glow]
and the majority of its language were born over a year ago in April 2005 as Model Legislation at the first National Strategy Meeting on identifying the Missing. At this conference, the National Criminal Justice Reference Service brought together Federal, State and Local Law Enforcement, medical examiners and coroners, victim's advocates, forensic scientists, key policymakers and families who have lived through this tragic experience to develop the baseline Missing Persons' Model Legislation. The Model was now ready for the next step.
[glow=red,2,300]ProjectJason.org, [/glow] www.projectjason.org/
a not for profit Missing Persons organization, facilitated the next step and called for volunteers in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia to retain a Sponsor to support the Model Missing Persons' Legislation at the state level. Campaign for the Missing 2006, a grassroots effort, was born and volunteers came forward from many states to take the Model Legislation, tailor it for their respective state, retain a Sponsor and forge it into law. Patricia's husband, Jim Viola, took on New Jersey and State Senator Loretta Weinberg (Distict 37) and her staff immediately embraced the new proposed Legislation, making NJ the first state to obtain sponsorship and making it a reason for all of us to be proud. New Jersey is on it's way to passing some much needed new Missing Person Legislation as Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri-Huttle has sponsored the identical proposed bill in the Assembly.
learn more about New Jersey's Legislative Process. www.njleg.state.nj.us/legislativepub/legprocess.asp
[glow=red,2,300]Introduction[/glow]
The key points of "Patricia's Law" are as follows:
- A law enforcement agency shall accept without delay any report of a missing person and cannot refuse to accept such reports.
- Provides a detailed breakout of the specific information to be gathered and recorded by law enforcement about the missing person
- Improves the system of communication between law enforcement and the person
making the report, a family member, or any other person in a position to assist law enforcement in locacting the missing person, including informing the person filing the missing persons report of the existence of two clearing houses for missing person's information. If the person reported missing is age 17 or under, the person filing the report shall be provided with contact information for the
[glow=red,2,300]National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.[/glow]
www.ncmec.org/
If the person reported missing is age 18 or older, the person filing the report shall be provided with contact information for the
[glow=red,2,300]National Center for Missing Adults.[/glow]
www.theyaremissed.org/ncma/index.php
- Law enforcement shall immediately determine if the missing person is deemed "high-risk" and if so shall notify the NJ State Police Missing Persons Unit for further immediate action, including, but not limited to activation of the Amber Alert program for the State.
- The Attorney General will provide information to local law enforcement concerning best practices and protocols for handling death scene investigations.
- Improve procedures for handling human remains and communication with the family.
Click here to read the complete proposed version of "Patricia's Law" Legislation.
www.njleg.state.nj.us/2006/Bills/S2500/2255_I1.PDF
[glow=red,2,300]"Patricia's Law" [/glow]strives to give hope to families of the missing and keeps the families actively
engaged in helping to bring home their missing loved one.
[glow=red,2,300]Timeline of Events[/glow]
Jan. 7, 2006
Contacted Senator Loretta Weinberg and requested support on the subject Model Missing Persons' Legislation.
Jan. 13, 2006
Received a very positive response from Senator Loretta Weinberg
and was informed that her staff will start to review the proposal
submitted immediately.
Jan. 31, 2006
Senator Loretta Weinberg's staff informed me that she will be
sponsoring the proposed Model Missing Persons' Legislation. The
Model Missing Persons' Legislation is moved to the Research/Drafting stage as it icompared with existing laws.
April 13, 2006
Senator Loretta Weinberg's staff confirmed that the proposed Model Missing Persons' Legislation will be known as "Patricia's Law".
Oct. 6, 2006
Draft of "Patricia's Law" completed.
Oct. 16, 2006
"Patricia's Law" formally introduced to the full NJ Senate at the
212th Legislature (first reading) and is assigned Senate Bill
No. S2255 and referred to the Senate Law, Public Safety and Veteran Affairs Committee for vote.
Oct. 19, 2006
Senator Loretta Weinberg, Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri-Huttle and Jim Viola held a Press Conference held in front
of Jim's home to formally announce the introduction of "Patricia's
Law" into the NJ Senate. The Bogota Police and Bergen County
Prosecutors Office also participated and supported the Press Conference as did Sen. Weinberg's staff.
see web site for Video of Press Conference and for Audio comments by Jim Viola at the Press Conference.http://patriciaviolamissing.homestead.com/Patricias_Law.html
- Photos from Press Conference: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7
Oct. 23. 2006
Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri-Huttle Sponsors an identical version of "Patricia's Law" in the Assembly in the legislature and introduces it as Assembly Bill A3643 or"Patricia's Law" and referred to the Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee for
vote.
Oct. 25, 2006
"The Record" covered the 10/19/06 Press Conference in the Bergen and Passaic County Editions on Oct. 25, 2006.
The Record article and review additional links added by Jim Viola.
patriciaviolamissing.homestead.com/Bergen_Record_Press_Conference_Coverage_Oct_25_2006.pdf
What New Jersey Residents can do to help pass "Patricia's Law"
1. Become familiar with "Patricia's Law".
2. Write letters to your District Senator and Assemblymen and Assemblywoman to request their
support when "Patricia's Law" comes to VOTE.
Go here for a sample letter. (Log your letters sent on this page's Guestbook. patriciaviolamissing.homestead.com/Patricias_Law_Sample_Letter_to_NJ_Legislator.doc
3. Before selecting who to write to rememeber that "Patricia's Law" must be passed out of each respective committee first. Use the links below to list all respective committees then select Senate Law, Public Safety and Veteran Affairs Committee and Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee. The members will be listed. Clicking on each member will give you their District and contact information.
- NJ Assembly Committees.
www.njleg.state.nj.us/committees/assembly.asp
- NJ Senate Committees.
www.njleg.state.nj.us/committees/senate.asp
- find the District that you reside in.
www.njleg.state.nj.us/districts/municipalities.asp
- find your Legislator.
www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/legsearch.asp
NOTE
If you reside in a District who has a member on the above Senate or Assembly committees mentioned, it is very important that you cotact him or her first so they can pass it out of the committee. Even if your representatives are not in the committee, it is still very important that you contact them as soon as possible and explain how important it is that they VOTE YES to "Patricia's Law" when it is presented to them. It is advisable to include a copy of the "Patricia's Law" Legislation (S2255 for Senators and A3643 for Assemblymen and woman).
[glow=red,2,300]THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR THE SUPPORT IN THIS IMPORTANT INITIATIVE ![/glow]
[glow=red,2,300]FACT: [/glow]Since 2000, New Jersey has almost 1700 active unsolved missing person cases. {Patricia Viola is one of them} Source: New Jersey State Police Missing Persons Unit