Bill Text: NY A10317 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
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
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 law25enforcement]. Such statewide electronic tracking system shall not 26 include unreported evidence collection kits [not in the custody of law27enforcement], provided, however, that any unreported evidence collection EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD15582-01-4A. 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 been11submitted 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-27ment] 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 been33submitted 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 forensicA. 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.