A 1970: Requires the collection and reporting of sexual offense evidence on the statewide electronic tracking system within seven days of permission to release the evidence by the alleged sexual offense victim; relates to additional rules and guidelines.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1970 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY January 14, 2025 ___________ Introduced by 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)] custodian or custodians shall comply with 8 such request; or (ii) such evidence is privileged and either (A) the 9 alleged sexual offense victim gives permission to release the evidence 10 to law enforcement, upon which law enforcement must retrieve the 11 evidence within three days of such permission and report such evidence 12 in the statewide electronic tracking system pursuant to subdivision 13 eight of this section, or (B) the alleged sexual offense victim signs a 14 statement directing the [custodian(s)] custodian or custodians to 15 dispose of the evidence, in which case the sexual offense evidence will 16 be discarded in compliance with state and local health codes. 17 § 2. Subdivision 8 of section 2805-i of the public health law, as 18 amended by chapter 31 of the laws of 2023, is amended to read as 19 follows: 20 8. (a) The division of criminal justice services in consultation with 21 the department, the office of victim services, the division of state 22 police, and the New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault shall 23 develop a statewide electronic tracking system for reported evidence 24 collection kits used to collect and preserve evidence of a sexual EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD04793-01-5 
 A. 1970 2 1 assault or other sex offense [that are submitted to the custody of law 2 enforcement]. Such statewide electronic tracking system shall not 3 include unreported evidence collection kits [not in the custody of law 4 enforcement], provided, however, that any unreported evidence collection 5 kits released by the office of victim services to law enforcement pursu- 6 ant to clause (A) of subparagraph (ii) of paragraph j of subdivision two 7 of this section shall be designated as reported evidence collection kits 8 subject to the tracking requirements set forth in this subdivision. 9 (b) The division of criminal justice services shall promulgate rules 10 and guidelines to ensure that sexual assault evidence collection kits 11 [that are submitted to the custody of law enforcement] are trackable on 12 a statewide electronic tracking system developed pursuant to this subdi- 13 vision, and that survivors are given notice of how they may track their 14 own [sexual assault] reported evidence collection kit [after it has been 15 submitted to the custody of law enforcement]. Such rules and guidelines 16 shall require that (i) hospitals collecting evidence collection kits 17 record the collection of any reported evidence collection kits in the 18 electronic tracking system and notify the appropriate law enforcement 19 agency within forty-eight hours of such collection, and (ii) law 20 enforcement retrieve any reported evidence collection kit from a hospi- 21 tal within three days of being notified by a hospital that a reported 22 evidence collection kit has been collected. Any hospital, law enforce- 23 ment agency, forensic laboratory, or prosecutor that has taken custody 24 of an evidence collection kit used for a forensic medical examination 25 shall comply with the established protocols, rules and guidelines estab- 26 lished by the division of criminal justice services pursuant to this 27 paragraph. 28 (c) The statewide electronic tracking system shall: 29 (1) Track the location and status of each reported evidence collection 30 kit [after such kit has been submitted to the custody of law enforce- 31 ment] from collection to final disposition; 32 (2) Allow a hospital, law enforcement agency, accredited crime labora- 33 tory, prosecutor, employees of the long-term sexual offense evidence 34 storage facility, or any other entity providing a chain of custody for 35 [an] a reported evidence collection kit, to update and track the status 36 and location of the reported evidence collection kits [that have been 37 submitted to the custody of law enforcement]; and 38 (3) Allow a survivor to anonymously track or receive updates regarding 39 the status and location of such survivor's reported evidence collection 40 kit [that has been submitted to the custody of law enforcement]. 41 (d) No later than January first, two thousand twenty-five, any hospi- 42 tal, law enforcement agency, accredited crime laboratory, prosecutor, 43 employee of the long-term sexual offense evidence storage facility, or 44 any other entity providing a chain of custody for [an] a reported 45 evidence collection kit to update and track the status and location of 46 such kit, shall participate in the tracking system and comply with all 47 established protocols, rules and guidelines. A participating entity 48 shall be permitted to access the entity's tracking information through 49 the statewide electronic tracking system. 50 (e) Records entered into the tracking system are confidential. Records 51 relating to [an] a reported evidence collection kit shall be accessed 52 only by the survivor for whom the reported evidence collection kit was 53 completed. 54 (f) The provisions of this subdivision shall apply to all reported 55 evidence collection kits submitted prior to, on, or after the effective 56 date of this subdivision. 
 A. 1970 3 1 (g) For purposes of this section: 2 (1) "evidence collection kit" shall mean a human biological specimen 3 or specimens collected by a healthcare provider during a forensic 4 medical examination from the victim of a sexual assault or other sex 5 offense; [and] 6 (2) "survivor" shall mean an individual who is the victim of a sexual 7 offense from whom a human biological specimen or specimens collected by 8 a healthcare provider during a forensic medical examination[.]; 9 (3) "reported evidence collection kit" means a sexual assault evidence 10 kit in which the survivor has consented to evidence collection and 11 reporting the sexual assault or other sex offense to law enforcement; 12 and 13 (4) "unreported evidence collection kit" means evidence collection 14 kits controlled by the office of victims services pursuant to paragraph 15 (d) of subdivision two of this section. 16 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately. Effective immediately, 17 the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation neces- 18 sary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are 19 authorized to be made and completed on or before three months of such 20 effective date.