Bill Text: NY A01970 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-14 - referred to health [A01970 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-A01970-Introduced.html

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                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.