Assembly Bill A1970

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  1970--A
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 14, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A. PAULIN, ZACCARO, DINOWITZ, ROSENTHAL, HEVESI,
   STIRPE, WEPRIN, LEVENBERG, LEE  --  read  once  and  referred  to  the
   Committee on Health -- reported and referred to the Committee on Codes
   --  committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended
   and recommitted to said committee

 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)] CUSTODIAN OR CUSTODIANS 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  SEVEN 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)]  CUSTODIAN  OR  CUSTODIANS  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
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD04793-03-5
              

 A. 1970--A                          2
 
 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
 KITS RELEASED BY THE OFFICE OF VICTIM SERVICES TO LAW ENFORCEMENT PURSU-
 ANT TO CLAUSE (A) OF SUBPARAGRAPH (II) 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  SEVEN  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.
 A. 1970--A                          3
 
   (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
 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.   Effective  immediately,
 the  addition,  amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation neces-
 sary for the implementation of  this  act  on  its  effective  date  are
 authorized  to  be made and completed on or before three months of  such
 effective date.