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SB 2098

AN ACT to create and enact a new chapter to title 54 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to a state alert notice system; and to repeal sections 39-03-13.2 and 54-12-32 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to the state's silver and blue alert notice systems.

69th Legislative Assembly (2025-26) Introduced by Pat Heinert and 1 co-sponsor

Creates a statewide amber/blue/silver alert system under BCI and the Highway Patrol, defines alerts, sets activation criteria, and requires an operational plan for broadcasts.

Filed with Secretary Of State 03/20
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Bill Summary · SB 2098

Summary — SB 2098 (Sixty-ninth Legislative Assembly, 2025)

Status: Filed with Secretary of State 03/20/2025 (passed both chambers; recorded actions show transmission to and filing with the Governor/Secretary of State in March 2025)

Purpose

SB 2098 creates a new, consolidated chapter in Title 54 of the North Dakota Century Code establishing a statewide "alert notice system" (amber, blue, and silver alerts). The bill codifies definitions, centralizes activation authority, and requires an operational plan for issuing emergency public alerts. It also repeals two existing statutes that previously governed silver and blue alerts (NDCC §§ 39‑03‑13.2 and 54‑12‑32).

Key provisions

  • Establishes statutory definitions for:
    • Amber alert notice — emergency bulletin describing an abducted child.
    • Blue alert notice — bulletin describing a suspect or vehicle to aid apprehension of someone who has threatened or harmed a law enforcement officer or caused an officer to go missing and who has left the scene.
    • Silver alert notice — bulletin describing a missing individual to aid location.
    • Missing endangered individual — includes disabled adults/elderly vulnerable adults, individuals with developmental disabilities, and elderly adults whose disappearance poses grave danger, specific environmental threats, or otherwise warrants a silver alert.
  • Activation authority and process:
    • A law enforcement agency may request activation of an amber, blue, or silver alert by the Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) or the Superintendent of the Highway Patrol.
    • BCI, in cooperation with the Highway Patrol, must prepare an operational plan for responding to activation requests; the plan must specify the role/requirements of the Division of State Radio (Dept. of Emergency Services) in broadcasting alerts.
  • Minimum activation criteria:
    • Amber: abduction of a child age 17 or younger; law enforcement confirmation that the child is believed to be in grave danger of serious bodily harm or death; and sufficient descriptive information (child, abductor, or vehicle) that an immediate broadcast will assist recovery and apprehension.
    • Blue: suspect has threatened/used a deadly weapon against an officer, caused serious injury/death, abducted an officer, or caused an officer to go missing; the suspect fled the scene; a broadcastable description is available; the investigating agency determines the suspect poses a public or officer safety threat; and public dissemination may help avert harm or secure apprehension.

Who is affected

  • State law enforcement (local agencies, the BCI, Highway Patrol)
  • Department of Emergency Services (Division of State Radio)
  • Missing persons (children, vulnerable adults, elderly) and their families
  • The general public (recipients of emergency alerts)

Procedural/timeline aspects

  • The bill centralizes decision-making authority for alert issuance with BCI and the Highway Patrol and requires an operational plan (no specific deadline in the text for plan completion).
  • SB 2098 explicitly repeals NDCC §§ 39‑03‑13.2 and 54‑12‑32 (the prior silver/blue alert statutes), replacing them with the new chapter.

Notes / Limitations

  • The bill sets activation thresholds but leaves certain determinations (e.g., whether circumstances “warrant” a silver alert or whether a person is “believed to be in grave danger”) to the judgment of law enforcement and BCI/Highway Patrol.
  • The bill does not appropriate funds or create new enforcement/penalty mechanisms.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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