Section 16.NEW - [Newly enacted section not yet numbered] [Effective 7/15/2024](1) The Department of Kentucky State Police, in cooperation with the Transportation Cabinet, the Division of Emergency Management, and media providers, shall create and operate a system to notify the public when any individual is determined to be a missing adult and the department determines that public notification might aid in the recovery of the individual. The system shall be known as the Kentucky Ashanti Alert System. (2) The system shall utilize existing resources, including but not limited to electronic highway signs, the Amber Alert System, the emergency broadcast system, law enforcement communications systems, and local, regional, and statewide media providers, as authorized and under conditions permitted by the federal government. (3) No public alert using the system shall be issued unless the department, in consultation with the law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction where the missing adult was reported, has determined the geographic area in which the notification shall be made, and has reasonable cause to believe: (a) That the disappearance of the missing adult may not have been voluntary, including an abduction or kidnapping, or that the physical safety of the missing adult may be endangered; and (b) That public notification is the most appropriate method of recovering the missing adult in a safe and efficient manner. (4) If it is determined by the department that public notification shall be initiated, the department shall notify and provide the public and private agencies and organizations that will provide the notification with the information that the department deems necessary. (5) All law enforcement agencies in the Commonwealth shall cooperate with the department in the provision and dissemination of information regarding any missing adult. (6) No law enforcement agency, other than the department, shall activate the notification system specified in this section without the authority of the department. (7) The system shall be operated by all agencies of the Commonwealth within existing budgetary appropriations. Added by 2024 Ky. Acts ch. TBD,§ 2, eff. 7/15/2024.