Congresswoman Jenkins on Kelsey Smith Act

Statement

The Kelsey Smith Act was introduced for the 113th Congress by Congressman Yoder today. This bill will require wireless communication providers to release call location information to law-enforcement agencies only in emergency situations that involve the risk of death or serious physical harm. Congresswoman Jenkins is an original cosponsor of this legislation and released the following statement about the bill:

"When the lives of our children are at stake, we must ensure law enforcement has all the tools available at their disposal. Companies withholding critical location information from the authorities for fear of legal liability is simply not acceptable. This bill will correct a serious flaw in the system, and save innocent lives. I was honored to work alongside Kelsey's parents, Greg and Missey Smith, in introducing this legislation in the 112th Congress, and I commend them, along with Congressman Yoder for continuing to advocate for this commonsense law and carrying the effort forward in the 113th Congress."

On June 2, 2007, 18-year-old Kelsey Smith was abducted in broad daylight from a local department store and murdered. Four days after she disappeared, authorities were able to locate Kelsey's body because her wireless provider released the "ping" or "call location" information from her cell phone. Currently, federal law allows telecom providers to release "call location" information, but does not require them to do so. Providers, however, are cautious to give this information to authorities due to liability concerns.

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