I think this bill is a terrible idea, for reasons I discussed here.
ยง403.7. Failure to report a missing child
A.(1) A caretaker shall report to the appropriate authorities that a child is missing within two hours of the expiration of the time period provided in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection.
(2) For purposes of this Section, the following presumptions shall apply:
(a) When the child is under the age of seven years, there is a presumption that a child is missing and the caretaker knew or should have known that the child is missing when the caretaker does not know the location of the child and has not been in contact with nor verified the location or safety of the child for a period of twenty-four hours.
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C. Any person who violates the provisions of Subsection A of this Section shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars and shall be imprisoned for not more than two years.
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The purpose of this law is not to fine or imprison someone. The purpose is to lock up and tighten the screws on a parent suspected of doing something to his or her child.
Especially this portion:
A. It shall be unlawful for a caretaker, with the intent to mislead a public official or impede an investigation, to fail to report the death of a child, which occurs while the child is in the physical custody of the caretaker, to the appropriate authorities within one hour of the discovery of the child’s death or one hour of learning the location of the child’s body.
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D. The period of time in which a caretaker is required to report the death of a child as required by Subsection A of this Section shall be suspended for the period of time in which the caretaker is unable to make a report due to circumstances beyond his control.
And what the eff does that last part mean? Void for vagueness?