Amends TCA Title 37; Title 38 and Title 39.

This bill revises the present law provisions governing reporting a child as being missing. Under present law, whenever a parent knows, learns, or believes that a child under the parent's charge and care is missing, the parent must "report the child to a police or sheriff's office, Tennessee bureau of investigation, or any law enforcement officer" and make a statement to the agency of all available facts that will aid in the recognition, identification, or location and recovery of the child. This bill: (1) Revises the above provision to require the parent to "report the child as being missing to a law enforcement agency or the TBI" (this bill removes the provision regarding making a statement); (2) Adds the following: (A) If the missing child is a minor (12 years of age or younger for purposes of this bill), the parent must make the report within a reasonable time after determining the child is missing but in no event more than 24 hours after determining the child missing. It will be a Class A misdemeanor if a parent fails to make, or fails to cause to be made, the report regarding the missing minor child with intentional or reckless disregard for the safety of the minor child. This provision will not prohibit prosecution under any other law; (B) It is a defense to prosecution for the above-described Class A misdemeanor that the parent made reasonable diligent efforts to verify the whereabouts and safety of the minor child during the period of any delay in making the required report; and (C) A person who knowingly makes a false allegation against a parent for failing to report a missing child as required by this bill, in addition to other penalties provided for by law, may be prosecuted for the present law offense of false reports (discussed below), and the court may order the accuser to pay all litigation expenses, including, but not limited to, reasonable attorney's fees, discretionary costs, and other costs incurred by the wrongly accused party in defending against the false allegation. Under present law, it is a Class D felony if a person initiates a report or statement to a law enforcement officer concerning an offense or incident within the officer's concern knowing that: the offense or incident did not occur; the person has no information relating to the offense or incident reported; or the information relating to the offense reported is false.