What does Preamble of TRACE Act do?

This bill directs the Attorney General to include a data field in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. The data field will indicate whether the last known location of a missing person was confirmed or suspected to be on Federal land. The bill includes provisions for other purposes, though these are not specified in this section.

What does SHORT TITLE. of TRACE Act do?

This bill is formally titled the Tracking and Reporting Absent Community-Members Everywhere Act, also known as the TRACE Act.

What does DEFINITIONS. of TRACE Act do?

This section defines terms used within the Act. “Attorney General” is defined as the Attorney General acting through the Director of the National Institute of Justice. “Federal land” includes land owned by the United States under the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior (excluding land held in trust for Indian Tribes), and the Secretary of Defense for specific projects. “Territorial waters of the United States” refers to the territorial sea of the United States, 12 nautical miles wide, as described in Presidential Proclamation 5928.

What does DATA FIELD IN THE NATIONAL MISSING AND UNIDENTIFIED PERSONS of TRACE Act do?

This section requires the Attorney General to add a data field to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. The data field will indicate if a missing person's last known location was on Federal land or in territorial waters. The field will include specific location details about the Federal land unit or territorial waters area.

What does REPORT. of TRACE Act do?

This section requires the Attorney General to submit an annual report to the Senate and House Judiciary Committees. The report must contain the number of cases in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System where the missing person's last known location was on Federal land or in territorial waters. The first report is due January 15 of the second calendar year after the Act's enactment, with subsequent reports due annually thereafter.

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TRACE Act

Last updated: 9/4/2025 · Introduced: 3/13/2025

Author: Thomas Tillis (R-NC)

TL;DR (AI)

The TRACE Act mandates the inclusion of a data field in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System to record whether a missing person's last known location was on Federal land or in U.S. territorial waters.
This bill requires the Attorney General to annually report to Congress the number of missing persons cases within the system where the last known location was on Federal land or in territorial waters.
The Act defines 'Federal land' to include land managed by the Secretaries of Agriculture, Interior (excluding tribal lands), and Defense for specific projects, as well as U.S. territorial waters.

119th Congresspassed senateOfficial page

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Includes provisions on preamble, short title., and 3 more.

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