Bill Text: MI SB0074 | 2023-2024 | 102nd Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Civil rights: sex discrimination and harassment; office of the higher education sexual assault prevention, advocacy, and resource officer; create within department of civil rights. Creates new act.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-2)
Status: (Introduced) 2023-02-16 - Referred To Committee On Civil Rights, Judiciary, And Public Safety [SB0074 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2023-SB0074-Introduced.html
SENATE BILL NO. 74
the people of the state of michigan enact:
Sec. 1. This act may be cited as the "higher education sexual assault prevention, advocacy, and resource officer act".
(a) "Advocacy officer" means the higher education sexual assault prevention, advocacy, and resource officer.
(b) "Department" means the department of civil rights.
(c) "Institution of higher education" means a degree- or certificate-granting public or private college or university, junior college, or community college in this state.
(d) "Office" means the office of the higher education sexual assault prevention, advocacy, and resource officer created under this act.
(e) "Sexual assault" means a violation or attempted violation of section 520b, 520c, 520d, 520e, or 520g of the Michigan penal code, 1931 PA 328, MCL 750.520b, 750.520c, 750.520d, 750.520e, and 750.520g.
Sec. 3. (1) The office of the higher education sexual assault prevention, advocacy, and resource officer is created within the department.
(2) The principal executive officer of the office of the higher education sexual assault prevention, advocacy, and resource officer is the higher education sexual assault prevention, advocacy, and resource officer who is to be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the department. An individual appointed to serve as the higher education sexual assault prevention, advocacy, and resource officer must be qualified by training and experience to perform the duties and exercise the powers of the higher education sexual assault prevention, advocacy, and resource officer and the office of the higher education sexual assault prevention, advocacy, and resource officer as provided in this act.
Sec. 4. Under the supervision of the department, exercised in consultation with experts on sexual assault and sexual harassment, including, but not limited to, the Michigan domestic and sexual violence prevention and treatment board created under Executive Order No. 2012-17, the advocacy officer shall do all of the following:
(a) Advocate for students at institutions of higher education who may be victims of sexual assaults committed on the campuses of those institutions or at programs, activities, or events that they sponsor or otherwise provide or support.
(b) Encourage institutions of higher education to improve the quality and coordination of services they provide to assist students who may be victims of sexual assaults on their campuses or at programs, activities, or events that they sponsor or otherwise provide or support.
(c) Encourage institutions of higher education to improve the quality and coordination of preventive and corrective measures taken by those institutions to mitigate the likelihood and effects of sexual assaults on their campuses or at programs, activities, or events that they sponsor or otherwise provide or support, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(i) Institutional policies, procedures, and protocols for responding to and reporting incidents of sexual assaults of students.
(ii) Sexual assault prevention and response training for institutional personnel.
(iii) Sexual assault prevention and response presentations or courses for students.
(iv) Publication of information about campus and community resources available to student-victims of sexual assaults.
(d) Promote public awareness of the issue of sexual assault at institutions of higher education.
(e) Provide information and referral services to students who may be victims of sexual assaults at institutions of higher education to ensure that their rights are protected.
(f) Provide information to students who may be victims of sexual assaults at institutions of higher education regarding programs and services provided for them by each level of government.
(g) Promote new services, when necessary, for student-victims of sexual assaults at institutions of higher education.
(h) Maintain statistics, facts, and data pertaining to the incidence and nature of sexual assaults of students at institutions of higher education.
(i) Provide technical assistance to institutions of higher education regarding preventive and corrective measures to mitigate the likelihood and effects of sexual assaults on their campuses or at programs, activities, or events that they sponsor or otherwise provide or support.
(j) Coordinate efforts to identify campus sexual assault systems' response practices in order to remove barriers to victims receiving helping services and reporting, and, as needed, convene working group and campus response experts to identify gaps and solutions.
(k) Coordinate and collaborate with the department of state police, the department of health and human services, and any other state agency with responsibilities that include preventing sexual assault on college campuses to review and evaluate the use of state funds dedicated to sexual assault prevention, including, but not limited to, grants awarded under the campus sexual assault grant program administered by the Michigan state police, and make recommendations to state agencies, the legislature, and the governor regarding proposed legislation, rules, hearings, future funding allocations, and investigations considered necessary or proper to promote student safety at institutions of higher education.
Sec. 5. Under the supervision of the department, the advocacy officer may do any of the following:
(a) Except as otherwise provided by law and with the written consent of a student who may be a victim of sexual assault, obtain access to all information, records, and documents in the possession of an institution of higher education pertaining to the possible sexual assault and that the advocacy officer considers necessary in the performance of the advocacy officer's duties set forth in section 4.
(b) Request and receive from an institution of higher education a progress report concerning the processing of any report of sexual assault made to the institution by a student.
Sec. 6. (1) The advocacy officer shall submit an annual report on the conduct of the office to the department and the chairpersons of all committees in both houses of the legislature responsible for the oversight of institutions of higher education. A report under this section must be posted to the department's website, must address specific issues as prescribed by the department, and must not disclose the identity of any individual who may have been involved in any way, as a complainant, respondent, witness, or otherwise, in any alleged sexual assault.
(2) In addition to the annual report described in subsection (1), the office may, as needed, provide intermediate reports relating to specific matters of concern.
Sec. 7. Except as provided in section 11 of the child protection law, 1975 PA 238, MCL 722.631, any communication between the advocacy officer and any person regarding a possible sexual assault must be treated as confidential.
Sec. 8. Any record owned, used, possessed, or retained by the office in the performance of an official function of the office, and all records kept by the advocacy officer, are exempt from disclosure under the freedom of information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 to 15.246.
Sec. 9. The department shall promulgate rules to implement this act pursuant to the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328.
Sec. 10. The legislature shall annually appropriate a sum sufficient to implement this act.
Enacting section 1. This act takes effect 90 days after the date it is enacted into law.
