By Randal Edgar
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The state House voted 62 to 9 Thursday to pass a bill that requires phone companies to provide police with cell-phone location information in emergencies that might result in death or serious injury.
The bill, called the Kelsey Smith Act, is named for an 18-year-old Kansas woman who was abducted from a department store in 2007 and murdered. Four days after her disappearance, authorities found her body after the phone company provided location information for her cell phone.
At least 12 states have passed versions of the act, and another 7 are considering similar laws.
The bill now goes to Governor Chafee for his signature.