Bill Text: NY S08977 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced
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: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-06-19 - SUBSTITUTED BY A8401C [S08977 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-S08977-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8977 IN SENATE June 8, 2018 ___________ Introduced by Sen. HANNON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules 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 14 bill of rights shall be in plain, easy to understand language, and 15 include the right of the victim to: 16 (1) consult with a local rape crisis or local victim assistance organ- 17 ization, to have a representative of such organization accompany the 18 victim through the sexual offense examination, and to have such an 19 organization be summoned by the medical facility, police agency, prose- 20 cutorial agency or other law enforcement agency before the commencement 21 of the physical examination or interview, pursuant to this section; 22 (2) be offered and have made available at no cost appropriate post-ex- 23 posure treatment therapies, including a seven day starter pack of HIV 24 post-exposure prophylaxis in accordance with paragraph (c) of subdivi- 25 sion one of this section and subdivision thirteen of section six hundred 26 thirty-one of the executive law; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD11584-22-8S. 8977 2 1 (3) a health care forensic examination at no cost and the right to be 2 notified of the option to decline to provide private health insurance 3 information and have the office of victim services reimburse the hospi- 4 tal for the examination under subdivision thirteen of section six 5 hundred thirty-one of the executive law; 6 (4) receive information relating to and the provision of emergency 7 contraception in accordance with section twenty-eight hundred five-p of 8 this article; 9 (5) be offered contact information for the police agency, prosecutori- 10 al agency or other law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the 11 sexual offense and be informed, upon request of the victim, of the date 12 and location at which such sexual offense evidence kit was assessed for 13 Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) eligibility and analyzed, whether a 14 CODIS eligible profile was developed and whether or not a DNA match was 15 identified, provided, however, that the police agency, prosecutorial 16 agency or other law enforcement agency serving the jurisdiction may 17 temporarily delay release of such DNA match information to the victim, 18 prior to the arrest of a suspect alleged to have committed such offense, 19 if such agency documents in writing and notifies the victim that release 20 of such information would compromise the successful investigation of 21 such sexual offense; 22 (6) be notified between thirty and ten days prior to the transfer of a 23 sexual offense evidence kit from the hospital to another storage facili- 24 ty in accordance with paragraph (h) of subdivision two of this section, 25 the right to have a sexual offense evidence kit maintained at an appro- 26 priate storage facility for twenty years from the date of collection, 27 the right, if not previously consented to, to consent to release the 28 evidence to law enforcement at any time during the twenty years from 29 collection, and the right to be notified by such facility at least nine- 30 ty days prior to the expiration of the twenty-year storage period in 31 accordance with paragraph (k) of subdivision two of this section; and 32 (7) be notified by the prosecutorial agency with jurisdiction of judi- 33 cial proceedings relating to their case in accordance with article twen- 34 ty-three of the executive law; and 35 (8) decide whether or not the victim wishes to report the offense to 36 law enforcement. 37 (b) Before a medical facility commences a physical examination of a 38 sexual offense victim, or a police agency, prosecutorial agency or other 39 law enforcement agency commences an interview of a sexual offense 40 victim, the health care professional conducting the exam, police agency, 41 prosecutorial agency or other law enforcement agency shall inform the 42 victim of the victim's rights by providing a copy of this sexual assault 43 victim bill of rights and offering to explain such rights. 44 § 2. Paragraph (f) of subdivision 1 of section 838-a of the executive 45 law, as added by chapter 6 of the laws of 2017, is amended, subdivision 46 3 is renumbered subdivision 4 and a new subdivision 3 is added to read 47 as follows: 48 (f) The failure of any such police agency, prosecutorial agency or 49 forensic laboratory to comply with a time limit specified in this 50 section or section eight hundred thirty-eight-b of this article shall 51 not, in and of itself, constitute a basis for a motion to suppress 52 evidence in accordance with section 710.20 of the criminal procedure 53 law. 54 3. Each police agency, prosecutorial agency and other law enforcement 55 agency within this state shall adopt policies and procedures concerning 56 contact with victims of sexual offenses, and the provision of informa-S. 8977 3 1 tion to victims upon request, concerning sexual offense evidence 2 collected or received from them. The policies and procedures shall be 3 victim-focused, meaning systematically focused on the needs and concerns 4 of victims to ensure the compassionate and sensitive delivery of 5 services in a nonjudgemental manner, and shall include, at a minimum, a 6 requirement that: 7 (a) the police agency, prosecutorial agency or other law enforcement 8 agency designate at least one person, who is trained in trauma and 9 victim response through a program meeting minimum standards established 10 by the division of criminal justice services, following appropriate 11 guidelines on evidence-based, trauma-informed practices, which may 12 include guidelines from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 13 Administration, within its agency to receive all inquiries concerning 14 sexual offense evidence kits from victims; and 15 (b) at the time that a sexual offense evidence kit is collected, a 16 victim shall be provided with: (i) a copy of the victim bill of rights 17 described in subdivision six of section twenty-eight hundred five-i of 18 the public health law; and (ii) contact information, including a name, 19 phone number and e-mail address, for the individual designated pursuant 20 to paragraph (a) of this subdivision at the police agency, prosecutorial 21 agency or other law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the sexual 22 offense. 23 § 3. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 838-b to 24 read as follows: 25 § 838-b. Victim's right to notice. Each police agency, prosecutorial 26 agency and other law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over a sexual 27 offense shall, upon request of the victim who has consented to report 28 such offense to law enforcement, provide the sexual offense victim with 29 notice of the date and location at which sexual offense evidence 30 collected or received from such victim is assessed for CODIS eligibility 31 and analyzed, whether a CODIS eligible profile was developed and whether 32 or not a DNA match was identified, provided, however, that the police 33 agency, prosecutorial agency or other law enforcement agency serving the 34 jurisdiction may temporarily delay release of such DNA match information 35 to the victim, prior to the arrest of a suspect alleged to have commit- 36 ted such offense, if such agency documents in writing and notifies the 37 victim that release of such information would compromise the successful 38 investigation of such sexual offense. The police or prosecutorial agen- 39 cy or other law enforcement agency in possession of a sexual offense 40 evidence kit shall notify the sexual offense victim at least ninety days 41 prior to the expiration of the twenty-year storage period in accordance 42 with paragraph (k) of subdivision two of section twenty-eight hundred 43 five-i of the public health law. 44 § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 45 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, however, the addi- 46 tion, amendment, and/or repeal of any rules and regulations necessary to 47 implement the provisions of this act on its effective date, including 48 the compiling of the sexual assault victim bill of rights required by 49 section one of this act, are authorized and directed to be completed on 50 or before such effective date.