House Bill No. 6188 BY Paplauskas, Baginski, Newberry, Quattrocchi, Read, Chippendale, Fascia, Noret, Solomon, Brien ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- STATE POLICE -- THE LINDA DALOMBA PURPLE ALERT ACT (Establishes a system to publicly disseminate emergency alerts regarding a missing adult with an intellectual disability.) {LC2683/1} » http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText25/HouseText25/H6188.pdf
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Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, today I'm
proud to introduce House Bill 6188, the
Linda Delomba Purple Alert Act. This
legislation is deeply personal to the
city of Cranston, but its purpose
reaches every corner of our state. Just
weeks ago, our city faced a terrifying
situ situation when Linda Deloma, a
45-year-old non-verbal woman with
autism, went missing. For over 70 hours,
our police led the search and our
community mobilized until Linda was
found safe. In the aftermath in a in the
aftermath of that search, Mayor Ken
Hopkins in police chief Michael Winkress
came to me with a clear ask. Rhode
Island needs a statewide notification
system for vulnerable adults like Linda.
H6188 is our response. We worked
directly with the Rhode Island Emergency
Management Agency before this bill was
introduced to ensure their expertise was
integrated into the very framework of
the
legislation. Because this isn't just
about passing a bill, it's about
creating a system that's ready to go,
one that fits within our existing
emergency infrastructure and will be
effective from day one. Here's what the
bill does. It establishes a purple alert
system specifically for adults with
intellectual disabilities, focusing on a
specific population that are most at
risk in these situations with a clear
legally grounded act activation process
for law enforcement. It mandates the use
of IPAW, the integrated public alert and
warning system to asssure alerts are
delivered quickly, just like Amber and
Silver alerts are across all channels,
cell phones, TV, radio, and more. It
assigns Rhode Island Emergency
Management Agency a central role in
coordinating the program, conducting
annual policy reviews, and providing
mandatory training to ensure the system
remains effective, tested, and
up-to-date. An
H618 has earned broad statewide support.
I want to thank the members of Linda's
family, Maria and John, who submitted a
heartfelt letter in support and are here
to testify. I also want to acknowledge
the growing number of leaders who have
joined this effort. Over the past week,
three mayors have signed on to the
legislation. Mayor Hopkins, Mayor
Polycina, and Mayor Picosi. I'd like to
add a Republican, Democrat, and
independent. So, this is not a partisan
issue at all. town manager, Coventry
Town Manager Dan Pillo, and five police
chiefs from Cranston, Warwick, Johnston,
Bristol, and West Greenwich, plus
community members, all submitting
written testimony to urge passage of
this bill. They see what we see. House
Bill 6188 is a common sense,
compassionate solution that fills a
critical gap in our public safety system
using tools we already have. It's built
to work in the real world the moment it
passes with clear structure, strong
oversight, and the full support of those
who will be responsible for carrying it
out. Most importantly, this legislation
honors Linda Dela story by making sure
we're ready to protect others like her
across every city and town in Rhode
Island. I respectfully urge you to
support
86188 and moving forward. Thank you, Mr.
