Caylee's Law to Report Missing Children Advances in House

A bill crafted as a result of an emotional murder trial last summer in Orlando, received support from the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday.

HB 37, would require a caregiver to report if any child 12 or younger is missing. Failure to do so would be a third-degree felony, the penalty bumped up to a second-degree felony if the child is harmed while missing.

The bill was inspired by the death of 2-year-old Caylee Anthony, the daughter of Casey Anthony who was acquitted last summer of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter in the girls death.

Currently, providing false information is a misdemeanor.

The Orlando woman was convicted of four misdemeanor counts of providing false information to a law enforcement officer.

The Senate bill, SB 858, also seeks to make it a third-degree felony for any person who provides misleading information to law enforcement during a missing child investigation where the child -- age 16 or younger -- is later found to have been injured.

Caylee Anthony was reported missing July 15, 2008. It was later determined the child, later found dead, had been missing for 30 days and during the investigation law enforcement reported Casey Anthony made a number of false statements regarding herself and the location of her daughter.