Bill Text: NY S06428 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

---

Bill Title: Provides for the establishment of a sexual assault victim bill of rights by the department of health, in consultation with the division of criminal justice services and the office of victim services; establishes a victim's right to notice.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 19-6)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2018-06-20 - COMMITTED TO RULES [S06428 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S06428-Amended.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         6428--B
            Cal. No. 156
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                      May 18, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sens.  HANNON, AKSHAR, AMEDORE, AVELLA, CROCI, GALLIVAN,
          GOLDEN,  HAMILTON,  HELMING,   JACOBS,   KRUEGER,   LARKIN,   LAVALLE,
          MARCHIONE,  MURPHY,  O'MARA,  PERALTA, PHILLIPS, RANZENHOFER, RITCHIE,
          ROBACH, SAVINO, TEDISCO, VALESKY, YOUNG  --  read  twice  and  ordered
          printed,  and  when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
          -- recommitted to the Committee on Health in  accordance  with  Senate
          Rule  6,  sec. 8 -- reported favorably from said committee, ordered to
          first and second report, ordered  to  a  third  reading,  amended  and
          ordered  reprinted,  retaining its place in the order of third reading
          -- again amended and ordered reprinted, retaining  its  place  in  the
          order of third reading
        AN ACT to amend the public health law and the executive law, in relation
          to  establishing  a sexual assault victim bill of rights; and to amend
          the executive law,  in  relation  to  maintenance  of  sexual  assault
          evidence, establishing a victim's right to notice prior to destruction
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Subdivision 6 of section 2805-i of the public health law is
     2  renumbered subdivision 7 and a new subdivision 6 is  added  to  read  as
     3  follows:
     4    6.  (a)  The department, in consultation with the division of criminal
     5  justice services, the office of victim services, hospitals, other health
     6  care providers and victim advocacy organizations, shall publish a sexual
     7  assault victim bill of rights for purposes of informing  sexual  offense
     8  victims  of  their  rights under state law. Such bill of rights shall be
     9  prominently published on the department's website, in at least  the  ten
    10  most common languages spoken in this state, and distributed to hospitals
    11  as a document which shall be provided to every presenting sexual offense
    12  victim.  The  department  may  update the bill of rights as necessary to
    13  reflect changes in state law and more accurately explain the  law.  Such
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11584-14-8
        S. 6428--B                          2
     1  bill  of  rights  shall  be  in  plain, easy to understand language, and
     2  include the right of the victim to:
     3    (1) consult with a local rape crisis or local victim assistance organ-
     4  ization,  to  have  a  representative of such organization accompany the
     5  victim through the sexual offense  examination,  and  to  have  such  an
     6  organization  be summoned by the medical facility, police agency, prose-
     7  cutorial agency or other law enforcement agency before the  commencement
     8  of the physical examination or interview, pursuant to this section;
     9    (2) be offered and have made available at no cost appropriate post-ex-
    10  posure  treatment  therapies,  including a seven day starter pack of HIV
    11  post-exposure prophylaxis in accordance with paragraph (c)  of  subdivi-
    12  sion one of this section and subdivision thirteen of section six hundred
    13  thirty-one of the executive law;
    14    (3)  a health care forensic examination at no cost and the right to be
    15  notified of the option to decline to provide  private  health  insurance
    16  information  and have the office of victim services reimburse the hospi-
    17  tal for the  examination  under  subdivision  thirteen  of  section  six
    18  hundred thirty-one of the executive law;
    19    (4)  receive  information  relating  to and the provision of emergency
    20  contraception in accordance with section twenty-eight hundred five-p  of
    21  this article;
    22    (5) be offered contact information for the police agency, prosecutori-
    23  al  agency  or  other  law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the
    24  sexual offense and be informed, upon request of the victim, of the  date
    25  and  location at which such sexual offense evidence kit was assessed for
    26  Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) eligibility and  analyzed,  whether  a
    27  CODIS  eligible profile was developed and whether or not a DNA match was
    28  identified, provided, however, that the prosecutorial agency serving the
    29  jurisdiction may temporarily delay release of such DNA match information
    30  to the victim, prior to the arrest of a suspect alleged to have  commit-
    31  ted  such  offense, if such agency documents in writing and notifies the
    32  victim that release of such information would compromise the  successful
    33  investigation of such sexual offense;
    34    (6) be notified between thirty and ten days prior to the transfer of a
    35  sexual offense evidence kit from the hospital to another storage facili-
    36  ty  in accordance with paragraph (h) of subdivision two of this section,
    37  the right to have a sexual offense evidence kit maintained at an  appro-
    38  priate  storage  facility  for twenty years from the date of collection,
    39  the right, if not previously consented to, to  consent  to  release  the
    40  evidence  to  law  enforcement  at any time during the twenty years from
    41  collection, and the right to be notified by such facility at least nine-
    42  ty days prior to the expiration of the  twenty-year  storage  period  in
    43  accordance with paragraph (k) of subdivision two of this section; and
    44    (7) be notified by the prosecutorial agency with jurisdiction of judi-
    45  cial proceedings relating to their case in accordance with article twen-
    46  ty-three of the executive law; and
    47    (8)  decide whether or not the victim wishes to report the offense for
    48  investigation by law enforcement.
    49    (b) Before a medical facility commences a physical  examination  of  a
    50  sexual offense victim, or a police agency, prosecutorial agency or other
    51  law  enforcement  agency  commences  an  interview  of  a sexual offense
    52  victim, the health care professional conducting the exam, police agency,
    53  prosecutorial agency or other law enforcement agency  shall  inform  the
    54  victim  of the victim's rights and provide a copy of this sexual assault
    55  victim bill of rights.
        S. 6428--B                          3
     1    § 2. Paragraph (f) of subdivision 1 of section 838-a of the  executive
     2  law,  as added by chapter 6 of the laws of 2017, is amended, subdivision
     3  3 is renumbered subdivision 4 and a new subdivision 3 is added  to  read
     4  as follows:
     5    (f)  The  failure  of  any such police agency, prosecutorial agency or
     6  forensic laboratory to comply  with  a  time  limit  specified  in  this
     7  section  or  section  eight hundred thirty-eight-b of this article shall
     8  not, in and of itself, constitute a  basis  for  a  motion  to  suppress
     9  evidence  in  accordance  with  section 710.20 of the criminal procedure
    10  law.
    11    3. Each police agency, prosecutorial agency and other law  enforcement
    12  agency  within this state shall adopt policies and procedures concerning
    13  contact with victims of sexual offenses, and the provision  of  informa-
    14  tion  to  victims  upon  request,  concerning  sexual  offense  evidence
    15  collected or received from them.  The policies and procedures  shall  be
    16  victim-focused, meaning systematically focused on the needs and concerns
    17  of  victims  to  ensure  the  compassionate  and  sensitive  delivery of
    18  services in a nonjudgemental manner, and shall include, at a minimum,  a
    19  requirement that:
    20    (a)  the  police agency, prosecutorial agency or other law enforcement
    21  agency designate at least one person,  who  is  trained  in  trauma  and
    22  victim  response through a program meeting minimum standards established
    23  by the division of  criminal  justice  services,  following  appropriate
    24  guidelines  on  evidence-based,  trauma-informed  practices,  which  may
    25  include guidelines from the Substance Abuse and Mental  Health  Services
    26  Administration,  within  its  agency to receive all inquiries concerning
    27  sexual offense evidence kits from victims; and
    28    (b) at the time that a sexual offense evidence  kit  is  collected,  a
    29  victim  shall  be provided with: (i) a copy of the victim bill of rights
    30  described in subdivision six of section twenty-eight hundred  five-f  of
    31  the  public  health law; and (ii) contact information, including a name,
    32  phone number and e-mail address, for the individual designated  pursuant
    33  to paragraph (a) of this subdivision at the police agency, prosecutorial
    34  agency or other law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the sexual
    35  offense.
    36    §  3.  The  executive  law is amended by adding a new section 838-b to
    37  read as follows:
    38    § 838-b. Victim's right to notice. Each police  agency,  prosecutorial
    39  agency  and other law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over a sexual
    40  offense shall, upon request of the victim who has  consented  to  report
    41  such  offense to law enforcement, provide the sexual offense victim with
    42  notice of the  date  and  location  at  which  sexual  offense  evidence
    43  collected or received from such victim is assessed for CODIS eligibility
    44  and analyzed, whether a CODIS eligible profile was developed and whether
    45  or  not a DNA match was identified, provided, however, that the prosecu-
    46  torial agency serving the jurisdiction may temporarily delay release  of
    47  such  DNA  match  information  to  the  victim, prior to the arrest of a
    48  suspect alleged to have committed such offense, if such agency documents
    49  in writing and notifies the victim  that  release  of  such  information
    50  would  compromise  the  successful investigation of such sexual offense.
    51  The police or prosecutorial agency or other law  enforcement  agency  in
    52  possession  of  a  sexual  offense  evidence kit shall notify the sexual
    53  offense victim at least ninety days prior to the expiration of the twen-
    54  ty-year storage period in accordance with paragraph (k)  of  subdivision
    55  two of section twenty-eight hundred five-i of the public health law.
        S. 6428--B                          4
     1    § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
     2  it  shall  have  become a law. Effective immediately, however, the addi-
     3  tion, amendment, and/or repeal of any rules and regulations necessary to
     4  implement the provisions of this act on its  effective  date,  including
     5  the  compiling  of  the sexual assault victim bill of rights required by
     6  section one of this act, are authorized and directed to be completed  on
     7  or before such effective date.