HOUSE BILL 174
52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2015
INTRODUCED BY
Sarah Maestas Barnes
AN ACT
RELATING TO AMBER ALERTS; REQUIRING ALL CELLULAR SERVICE AND PAGING SERVICE COMPANIES OPERATING IN THE STATE TO SEND TEXT MESSAGE NOTIFICATIONS OF AMBER ALERTS TO CUSTOMERS IN AFFECTED AREAS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. Section 63-9B-4.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2005, Chapter 142, Section 2) is amended to read:
"63-9B-4.1. AMBER ALERT NOTIFICATION.--
A. Each cellular service company or paging service company that is authorized to conduct business in New Mexico and that offers text messaging services to its customers shall file with the authorized requester, designated by the chief of the New Mexico state police pursuant to the AMBER Alert Law, the names and telephone numbers of representatives that will be available at all times for notification of an AMBER alert.
B. The authorized requester may designate one or more services to accept notification of an AMBER alert and deliver the notification to each cellular service company or paging service company. Connections with the services shall be made in the most technically efficient manner possible, using standard network sharing protocol from authorized agencies or their respective communication contractors.
C. Upon receipt of notification of an AMBER alert by the requester, a representative of [a] every cellular service company or paging service company [may] that provides service in New Mexico shall, at no additional expense to a customer, cause a text message to be sent to its customers [that] who are in the geographic area where an alert has been issued and who use a text messaging service, alerting them that an AMBER alert has been [declared] issued and containing such other information about the child and the abductor that may reasonably lead to the expedient and successful end to the abduction."
SECTION 2. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2015.
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