BILL NUMBER: S5225
SPONSOR: GOUNARDES
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to collecting and
reporting sexual offense evidence on the statewide electronic tracking
system
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill would amend the Public Health Law to include hospitals within
the rape kit tracking process and prescribe a timeframe by which law
enforcement officials must collect a rape kit from a hospital for deliv-
ery to a laboratory.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 would amend Public Health Law 2805-1(2)(j) to require law
enforcement to retrieve a rape kit stored by the Office of Victim
Service (OVS), at the request of an alleged sexual assault victim, for
reporting in the statewide electronic tracking system. Law enforcement
must retrieve the kit within three days of an alleged sexual assault
victim giving permission to release the rape kit.
Section 2 would amend Public Health Law 2805-i(8) to: (1) specify that
unreported kits released by OVS to law enforcement must be designated as
reported kits subject to tracking requirements; (2) include hospitals
within the tracking system requirements and require that they notify law
enforcement within 48 hours of collection; and (3) require that law
enforcement retrieve a rape kit from a hospital within three days of
notification by the hospital.
Section 2 would also define "reported evidence collection kits" and
"unreported evidence collection kits" for purposes of establishing a
process whereby kits within the custody of OVS are retrieved by law
enforcement upon consent by an alleged sexual assault victim.
Section 3 establishes the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
In 2023, New York State established a rape kit tracking system to follow
the path of a reported kit from law enforcement possession to lab
submission, and through testing. However, existing law does not specif-
ically include hospitals within the rape kit tracking process, nor does
it establish a protocol or timeframe in which hospitals must alert law
enforcement once a rape kit is prepared for collection for retrieval and
delivery to a laboratory for testing.
Including a specific protocol for transfer of a rape kit from hospitals
to law enforcement is vital to preserve the integrity of the evidence
collected during a sexual assault examination. Establishing clear
responsibilities and timelines for all parties involved, including
establishing a standard protocol and timeframe for law enforcement to
retrieve and deliver the kit to a laboratory, prevents kits from getting
mishandled or misplaced.
Incorporating hospitals into the statewide rape kit tracking system
would enable a comprehensive oversight of the rape kit from its incep-
tion, ensuring that no kits are missed or unrecorded. In addition,
including hospitals helps maintain the continuity and integrity of the
evidence, which is crucial for legal proceedings.
Most importantly, survivors deserve to know the status and location of
their kit throughout its entire process, not just in the later stages.
Notably, of the 40 states that have statutorily mandated rape kit track-
ing systems, New York is the only one where hospitals do not partic-
ipate.
In addition, existing law does not specify a process whereby a sexual
assault survivor whose kit is stored at an OVS storage facility decides.
to report the crime. In these instances, it is imperative that the State
establish clear guidelines for how these special cases are to be handled
to avoid a kit getting lost in this transition and becoming backlogged.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.10317 of 2024: referred to health
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
TBD
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately, provided, however, that the
addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary
for the implementation of this act shall be completed within three
months of such effective date.

Statutes affected:
S5225: 2805-i public health law, 2805-i(2) public health law, 2805-i(8) public health law