Bill Text: NY A10317 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires the collection and reporting of sexual offense evidence on the statewide electronic tracking system within three days of permission to release the evidence by the alleged sexual offense victim; relates to additional rules and guidelines.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-17 - referred to health [A10317 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A10317-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          10317

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      May 17, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Paulin) --
          read once and referred to the Committee on Health

        AN ACT to amend the public health law, in  relation  to  collecting  and
          reporting sexual offense evidence on the statewide electronic tracking
          system

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Paragraph (j) of subdivision 2 of  section  2805-i  of  the
     2  public  health  law, as amended by section 1 of part II of chapter 56 of
     3  the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
     4    (j) Notwithstanding  any  other  provision  in  this  section,  sexual
     5  offense  evidence  shall  not  continue  to  be  stored  where: (i) such
     6  evidence is not privileged and law enforcement requests its release,  in
     7  which case the custodian(s) shall comply with such request; or (ii) such
     8  evidence  is privileged and either (A) the alleged sexual offense victim
     9  gives permission to release the evidence to law enforcement, upon  which
    10  law  enforcement  must  retrieve  the evidence within three days of such
    11  permission and report such evidence in the statewide electronic tracking
    12  system pursuant to subdivision eight of this section, or (B) the alleged
    13  sexual offense victim signs a statement directing  the  custodian(s)  to
    14  dispose  of the evidence, in which case the sexual offense evidence will
    15  be discarded in compliance with state and local health codes.
    16    § 2. Subdivision 8 of section 2805-i of  the  public  health  law,  as
    17  amended  by  chapter  31  of  the  laws  of  2023, is amended to read as
    18  follows:
    19    8. (a) The division of criminal justice services in consultation  with
    20  the  department,  the  office  of victim services, the division of state
    21  police, and the New York State Coalition Against  Sexual  Assault  shall
    22  develop  a  statewide  electronic  tracking system for reported evidence
    23  collection kits used to  collect  and  preserve  evidence  of  a  sexual
    24  assault  or  other sex offense [that are submitted to the custody of law
    25  enforcement].  Such  statewide  electronic  tracking  system  shall  not
    26  include  unreported  evidence collection kits [not in the custody of law
    27  enforcement], provided, however, that any unreported evidence collection

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15582-01-4
        A. 10317                            2

     1  kits released by the office of victim services to law enforcement pursu-
     2  ant to clause (A) of subparagraph (i) of paragraph j of subdivision  two
     3  of this section shall be designated as reported evidence collection kits
     4  subject to the tracking requirements set forth in this subdivision.
     5    (b)  The  division of criminal justice services shall promulgate rules
     6  and guidelines to ensure that sexual assault  evidence  collection  kits
     7  [that  are submitted to the custody of law enforcement] are trackable on
     8  a statewide electronic tracking system developed pursuant to this subdi-
     9  vision, and that survivors are given notice of how they may track  their
    10  own [sexual assault] reported evidence collection kit [after it has been
    11  submitted to the custody of law enforcement].  Such rules and guidelines
    12  shall  require  that  (i)  hospitals collecting evidence collection kits
    13  record the collection of any reported evidence collection  kits  in  the
    14  electronic  tracking  system  and notify the appropriate law enforcement
    15  agency within  forty-eight  hours  of  such  collection,  and  (ii)  law
    16  enforcement  retrieve any reported evidence collection kit from a hospi-
    17  tal within three days of being notified by a hospital  that  a  reported
    18  evidence  collection  kit has been collected. Any hospital, law enforce-
    19  ment agency, forensic laboratory, or prosecutor that has  taken  custody
    20  of  an  evidence  collection kit used for a forensic medical examination
    21  shall comply with the established protocols, rules and guidelines estab-
    22  lished by the division of criminal justice  services  pursuant  to  this
    23  paragraph.
    24    (c) The statewide electronic tracking system shall:
    25    (1) Track the location and status of each reported evidence collection
    26  kit  [after  such  kit has been submitted to the custody of law enforce-
    27  ment] from collection to final disposition;
    28    (2) Allow a hospital, law enforcement agency, accredited crime labora-
    29  tory, prosecutor, employees of the  long-term  sexual  offense  evidence
    30  storage  facility,  or any other entity providing a chain of custody for
    31  [an] a reported evidence collection kit, to update and track the  status
    32  and  location  of  the reported evidence collection kits [that have been
    33  submitted to the custody of law enforcement]; and
    34    (3) Allow a survivor to anonymously track or receive updates regarding
    35  the status and location of such survivor's reported evidence  collection
    36  kit [that has been submitted to the custody of law enforcement].
    37    (d)  No later than January first, two thousand twenty-five, any hospi-
    38  tal, law enforcement agency, accredited  crime  laboratory,  prosecutor,
    39  employee  of  the long-term sexual offense evidence storage facility, or
    40  any other entity providing a  chain  of  custody  for  [an]  a  reported
    41  evidence  collection  kit to update and track the status and location of
    42  such kit, shall participate in the tracking system and comply  with  all
    43  established  protocols,  rules  and  guidelines.  A participating entity
    44  shall be permitted to access the entity's tracking  information  through
    45  the statewide electronic tracking system.
    46    (e) Records entered into the tracking system are confidential. Records
    47  relating  to  [an]  a reported evidence collection kit shall be accessed
    48  only by the survivor for whom the reported evidence collection  kit  was
    49  completed.
    50    (f)  The  provisions  of  this subdivision shall apply to all reported
    51  evidence collection kits submitted prior to, on, or after the  effective
    52  date of this subdivision.
    53    (g) For purposes of this section:
    54    (1)  "evidence  collection kit" shall mean a human biological specimen
    55  or specimens collected  by  a  healthcare  provider  during  a  forensic
        A. 10317                            3

     1  medical  examination  from  the  victim of a sexual assault or other sex
     2  offense; [and]
     3    (2)  "survivor" shall mean an individual who is the victim of a sexual
     4  offense from whom a human biological specimen or specimens collected  by
     5  a healthcare provider during a forensic medical examination[.];
     6    (3) "reported evidence collection kit" means a sexual assault evidence
     7  kit  in  which  the  survivor  has  consented to evidence collection and
     8  reporting the sexual assault or other sex offense  to  law  enforcement;
     9  and
    10    (4)  "unreported  evidence  collection  kit" means evidence collection
    11  kits controlled by the office of victims services pursuant to  paragraph
    12  (d) of subdivision two of this section.
    13    §  3.  This act shall take effect immediately, provided, however, that
    14  the addition,   amendment   and/or   repeal of any  rule  or  regulation
    15  necessary  for  the implementation of this act shall be completed within
    16  three months of such effective date.