Bill Text: NJ A3753 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Imposes time constraints on submission and analysis of rape kits.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-06-03 - Reported out of Asm. Comm. with Amendments, and Referred to Assembly Appropriations Committee [A3753 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A3753-Amended.html
ASSEMBLY, No. 3753
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 22, 2024
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman CAROL A. MURPHY
District 7 (Burlington)
Assemblywoman ANNETTE QUIJANO
District 20 (Union)
SYNOPSIS
Imposes time constraints on submission and analysis of rape kits.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Assembly Public Safety and Preparedness Committee on June 3, 2024, with amendments.
An Act concerning sexual assault evidence and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Sexual Assault Evidence Submission Act."
2. As used in this act:
"Law enforcement agencies" means municipal, county, State or federal law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation of sexual assault cases in this State.
"Sexual assault evidence" means evidence collected in connection with a sexual assault investigation, including, but not limited to, evidence collected during a forensic sexual assault examination.
"Superintendent" means the Superintendent of State Police in the Department of Law and Public Safety.
3. A law enforcement agency shall submit sexual assault evidence received in connection with the investigation of a criminal case within 10 business days of receipt to the Central Laboratory in the Office of Forensic Science in the Division of State Police or to a laboratory approved by the superintendent.
4. All sexual assault evidence submitted pursuant to section 3 of this act on or after the effective date of this act shall be analyzed within six months after receipt of all necessary evidence by the Central Laboratory in the Office of Forensic Science or other approved laboratory if sufficient staffing and resources are available.
5. a. Within 45 days of the effective date of this act, each law enforcement agency in this State shall provide written notice to the superintendent, in a form and manner prescribed by the superintendent, stating the number of sexual assault cases in the custody of the law enforcement agency that have not been previously submitted to a laboratory for analysis.
b. Within 180 days of the effective date of this act, appropriate arrangements shall be made between the law enforcement agency and the superintendent to ensure that all cases that were collected prior to the effective date of this act and are, or were at the time of collection, the subject of a criminal sexual assault investigation are submitted to the Central Laboratory in the Office of Forensic Science or to a laboratory approved by the superintendent.
c. Within 120 days of the effective date of this act, the superintendent shall submit to the Governor, Attorney General, President of the Senate, and Speaker of the General Assembly a plan for analyzing cases submitted pursuant to this section. The plan shall include, but not be limited to, a timeline for completion of analysis and a summary of the inventory received, as well as requests for funding and resources necessary to meet the established timeline.
1d. After the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), a law enforcement agency shall provide written notice to the superintendent of a violation of the provisions of section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). Within five days of the discovery of a violation, the law enforcement agency shall report to the superintendent, in a form and manner prescribed by the superintendent, the nature of the violation, the circumstances under which it occurred, and the name of any law enforcement officer or employee who committed the violation or who may have knowledge of the violation. The superintendent shall maintain a record of all violations and notify the Attorney General of any violations.1
6. The failure of a law enforcement agency to submit the sexual assault evidence collected on or after the effective date of this act within 10 business days after receipt shall not alter the authority of the law enforcement agency to submit the evidence or the authority of the Central Laboratory or other approved laboratory to analyze and type the genetic markers contained in or derived from DNA samples which are stored and maintained in the State DNA database and forwarded to the FBI for inclusion in CODIS in accordance with statute, rule, or regulation.
7. Sexual assault evidence submitted for analysis pursuant to this act shall be accompanied by the following signed certification:
"This evidence is being submitted by (name of investigating law enforcement agency) in connection with a prior or current criminal investigation."
18. A law enforcement officer or employee of any law enforcement agency who knowingly violates the provisions of section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be subject to a civil penalty of $1,000 for an initial violation, $2,500 for a second violation, and $5,000 for any subsequent violations, which shall be collected by the Attorney General in a summary proceeding before a court of competent jurisdiction pursuant to the provisions of the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.). Each case for which a violation occurs shall constitute a separate violation. However, a law enforcement officer or employee of any law enforcement agency shall not be deemed to have violated the provisions of section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) if the failure to comply occurred despite the law enforcement officer or employee's reasonable efforts to meet the statutory deadline.1
1[8.] 9.1 The
Attorney General shall develop guidelines governing the submission and analysis
of sexual assault evidence as required by the provisions of this act.
1[9.] 10.1 This act shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month following enactment and its provisions shall apply to sexual assault evidence received by a law enforcement agency within 30 days preceding the effective date of this act.
