SEXUAL ASSAULT EVIDENCE KIT TRACKING S.B. 998 (S-2):
SUMMARY OF BILL
REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE
Senate Bill 998 (Substitute S-2 as reported by the Committee of the Whole)
CONTENT
The bill would enact a new statute to do the following, effective January 1, 2015:
-- Create the Sexual Assault Evidence Kit Tracking and Reporting Commission within the Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention and Treatment Board.
-- Require the Commission to develop various guidelines and plans concerning sexual assault evidence kits (listed below), as well as guidelines and a plan to safeguard confidentiality.
-- Require the Commission to oversee implementation of the plans, subject to the appropriation of sufficient funding.
-- Require the Commission to submit a report on the plans to certain legislative committees and the Senate and House Fiscal Agencies.
-- Appropriate $25,000 in fiscal year 2014-15 and each subsequent fiscal year for the Department of Human Services to implement the proposed act.
-- Abolish the Commission either two years after the required report was submitted, if funds were not appropriated, or upon final implementation of the plans developed, if funds were appropriated.
The Commission would have to develop guidelines and a plan to implement the following:
-- A uniform statewide system to track the location, lab submission status, completion of forensic testing, and storage of sexual assault evidence kits.
-- Uniform systems to audit the proper submission of sexual assault evidence kits as mandated in the Sexual Assault Kit Evidence Submission Act, and to audit untested kits that had been released by the victims and were collected 30 days before the effective date of that Act.
-- A secure electronic access that would allow a victim to receive or have access to information about the location, lab submission status, and storage of sexual assault evidence that was gathered from him or her, as long as disclosure did not impede or compromise an ongoing investigation.
Access to information collected through the statewide system of unreleased or unused kits could be disclosed only to specific entities for policy or training purposes or to victims or their designees. That information could not identify the victim.
Legislative Analyst: Patrick Affholter
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would appropriate $25,000 to the Department of Human Services to operate the Commission. The funds would be used for expenditures, including travel reimbursements for members and the procurement of materials and other supplies.
Date Completed: 9-17-14 Fiscal Analyst: Frances Carley
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.