Assembly Bill A10317

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   10317
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               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:

   Section 1. Paragraph (j) of subdivision 2 of  section  2805-i  of  the
 public  health  law, as amended by section 1 of part II of chapter 56 of
 the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
   (j) Notwithstanding  any  other  provision  in  this  section,  sexual
 offense  evidence  shall  not  continue  to  be  stored  where: (i) such
 evidence is not privileged and law enforcement requests its release,  in
 which case the custodian(s) shall comply with such request; or (ii) such
 evidence  is privileged and either (A) the alleged sexual offense victim
 gives permission to release the evidence to law enforcement, UPON  WHICH
 LAW  ENFORCEMENT  MUST  RETRIEVE  THE EVIDENCE WITHIN THREE DAYS OF SUCH
 PERMISSION AND REPORT SUCH EVIDENCE IN THE STATEWIDE ELECTRONIC TRACKING
 SYSTEM PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION EIGHT OF THIS SECTION, or (B) the alleged
 sexual offense victim signs a statement directing  the  custodian(s)  to
 dispose  of the evidence, in which case the sexual offense evidence will
 be discarded in compliance with state and local health codes.
   § 2. Subdivision 8 of section 2805-i of  the  public  health  law,  as
 amended  by  chapter  31  of  the  laws  of  2023, is amended to read as
 follows:
   8. (a) The division of criminal justice services in consultation  with
 the  department,  the  office  of victim services, the division of state
 police, and the New York State Coalition Against  Sexual  Assault  shall
 develop  a  statewide  electronic  tracking system for REPORTED evidence
 collection kits used to  collect  and  preserve  evidence  of  a  sexual
 assault  or  other sex offense [that are submitted to the custody of law
 enforcement].  Such  statewide  electronic  tracking  system  shall  not
 include  UNREPORTED  evidence collection kits [not in the custody of law
 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
 
 KITS RELEASED BY THE OFFICE OF VICTIM SERVICES TO LAW ENFORCEMENT PURSU-
 ANT TO CLAUSE (A) OF SUBPARAGRAPH (I) OF PARAGRAPH J OF SUBDIVISION  TWO
 OF THIS SECTION SHALL BE DESIGNATED AS REPORTED EVIDENCE COLLECTION KITS
 SUBJECT TO THE TRACKING REQUIREMENTS SET FORTH IN THIS SUBDIVISION.
   (b)  The  division of criminal justice services shall promulgate rules
 and guidelines to ensure that sexual assault  evidence  collection  kits
 [that  are submitted to the custody of law enforcement] are trackable on
 a statewide electronic tracking system developed pursuant to this subdi-
 vision, and that survivors are given notice of how they may track  their
 own [sexual assault] REPORTED evidence collection kit [after it has been
 submitted to the custody of law enforcement].  SUCH RULES AND GUIDELINES
 SHALL  REQUIRE  THAT  (I)  HOSPITALS COLLECTING EVIDENCE COLLECTION KITS
 RECORD THE COLLECTION OF ANY REPORTED EVIDENCE COLLECTION  KITS  IN  THE
 ELECTRONIC  TRACKING  SYSTEM  AND NOTIFY THE APPROPRIATE LAW ENFORCEMENT
 AGENCY WITHIN  FORTY-EIGHT  HOURS  OF  SUCH  COLLECTION,  AND  (II)  LAW
 ENFORCEMENT  RETRIEVE ANY REPORTED EVIDENCE COLLECTION KIT FROM A HOSPI-
 TAL WITHIN THREE DAYS OF BEING NOTIFIED BY A HOSPITAL  THAT  A  REPORTED
 EVIDENCE  COLLECTION  KIT HAS BEEN COLLECTED. Any HOSPITAL, law enforce-
 ment agency, forensic laboratory, or prosecutor that has  taken  custody
 of  an  evidence  collection kit used for a forensic medical examination
 shall comply with the established protocols, rules and guidelines estab-
 lished by the division of criminal justice  services  pursuant  to  this
 paragraph.
   (c) The statewide electronic tracking system shall:
   (1) Track the location and status of each REPORTED evidence collection
 kit  [after  such  kit has been submitted to the custody of law enforce-
 ment] FROM COLLECTION TO FINAL DISPOSITION;
   (2) Allow a HOSPITAL, law enforcement agency, accredited crime labora-
 tory, prosecutor, employees of the  long-term  sexual  offense  evidence
 storage  facility,  or any other entity providing a chain of custody for
 [an] A REPORTED evidence collection kit, to update and track the  status
 and  location  of  the REPORTED EVIDENCE COLLECTION kits [that have been
 submitted to the custody of law enforcement]; and
   (3) Allow a survivor to anonymously track or receive updates regarding
 the status and location of such survivor's REPORTED evidence  collection
 kit [that has been submitted to the custody of law enforcement].
   (d)  No later than January first, two thousand twenty-five, any HOSPI-
 TAL, law enforcement agency, accredited  crime  laboratory,  prosecutor,
 employee  of  the long-term sexual offense evidence storage facility, or
 any other entity providing a  chain  of  custody  for  [an]  A  REPORTED
 evidence  collection  kit to update and track the status and location of
 such kit, shall participate in the tracking system and comply  with  all
 established  protocols,  rules  and  guidelines.  A participating entity
 shall be permitted to access the entity's tracking  information  through
 the statewide electronic tracking system.
   (e) Records entered into the tracking system are confidential. Records
 relating  to  [an]  A REPORTED evidence collection kit shall be accessed
 only by the survivor for whom the REPORTED evidence collection  kit  was
 completed.
   (f)  The  provisions  of  this subdivision shall apply to all REPORTED
 evidence collection kits submitted prior to, on, or after the  effective
 date of this subdivision.
   (g) For purposes of this section:
   (1)  "evidence  collection kit" shall mean a human biological specimen
 or specimens collected  by  a  healthcare  provider  during  a  forensic
 A. 10317                            3
 
 medical  examination  from  the  victim of a sexual assault or other sex
 offense; [and]
   (2)  "survivor" shall mean an individual who is the victim of a sexual
 offense from whom a human biological specimen or specimens collected  by
 a healthcare provider during a forensic medical examination[.];
   (3) "REPORTED EVIDENCE COLLECTION KIT" MEANS A SEXUAL ASSAULT EVIDENCE
 KIT  IN  WHICH  THE  SURVIVOR  HAS  CONSENTED TO EVIDENCE COLLECTION AND
 REPORTING THE SEXUAL ASSAULT OR OTHER SEX OFFENSE  TO  LAW  ENFORCEMENT;
 AND
   (4)  "UNREPORTED  EVIDENCE  COLLECTION  KIT" MEANS EVIDENCE COLLECTION
 KITS CONTROLLED BY THE OFFICE OF VICTIMS SERVICES PURSUANT TO  PARAGRAPH
 (D) OF SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS SECTION.
   §  3.  This act shall take effect immediately, provided, however, that
 the addition,   amendment   and/or   repeal of any  rule  or  regulation
 necessary  for  the implementation of this act shall be completed within
 three months of such effective date.