87(R) SB 1299 - Introduced version - Bill Text

	87R11641 AJZ-D
	By:  Nelson	S.B.  No.  1299

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the reporting of sexual assault and other sex offenses,
	to the emergency services and care provided to victims of those
	offenses, and to the processes associated with preserving and
	analyzing the evidence of those offenses.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION  1.    Subchapter F, Chapter 56A, Code of Criminal
	Procedure, is amended by adding Article 56A.2506 to read as
	follows:
	Art.  56A.2506.    DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "reported
	sexual assault" means a sexual assault that has been reported to a
	law enforcement agency.
	SECTION  2.    Article 56A.251, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
	amended to conform to Section 3, Chapter 1037 (H.B. 616), Acts of
	the 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019, and is further amended
	to read as follows:
	Art.  56A.251.    REQUEST FOR FORENSIC MEDICAL EXAMINATION.
	(a)  If [Except as provided by Subsection (b), if] a sexual assault
	is reported to a law enforcement agency within 120 [96] hours after
	the assault, the law enforcement agency, with the consent of the
	victim of the reported [alleged] assault, a person authorized to
	act on behalf of the victim, or an employee of the Department of
	Family and Protective Services, shall request a forensic medical
	examination of the victim for use in the investigation or
	prosecution of the offense.
	(b)    If a sexual assault is not reported within the period
	described by Subsection (a) and the victim is a minor as defined by
	Section 101.003, Family Code, on receiving the consent described by
	Subsection (a) or the consent described by Section 32.003 or
	32.005, Family Code, a law enforcement agency shall request a
	forensic medical examination of the victim for use in the
	investigation or prosecution of the offense [A law enforcement
	agency may decline to request a forensic medical examination under
	Subsection (a) only if:
	[(1)    the person reporting the sexual assault has made
	one or more false reports of sexual assault to any law enforcement
	agency; and
	[(2)    there is no other evidence to corroborate the
	current allegations of sexual assault].
	(c)    If a sexual assault is not reported within the period
	described by Subsection (a) and the victim is not a minor as defined
	by Section 101.003, Family Code, on receiving the consent described
	by Subsection (a), [that subsection] a law enforcement agency may
	request a forensic medical examination of a victim of a reported [an
	alleged] sexual assault for use in the investigation or prosecution
	of the offense if:
	(1)    based on the circumstances of the reported
	assault, the agency believes a forensic medical examination would
	further that investigation or prosecution; or
	(2)    after a medical evaluation by a physician, sexual
	assault examiner, or sexual assault nurse examiner, the physician
	or examiner notifies the agency that a forensic medical examination
	should be conducted [as considered appropriate by the agency].
	(d)    If a sexual assault is reported to a law enforcement
	agency as provided by Subsection (a), (b), or (c), the law
	enforcement agency shall document, in the form and manner required
	by the attorney general, whether the agency requested a forensic
	medical examination.  The law enforcement agency shall:
	(1)    provide the documentation of the agency's decision
	regarding a request for a forensic medical examination to:
	(A)    the health care facility and the physician,
	sexual assault examiner, or sexual assault nurse examiner, as
	applicable, who provides services to the victim that are related to
	the sexual assault; and
	(B)    the victim or the person who consented to the
	forensic medical examination on behalf of the victim; and
	(2)    maintain the documentation of the agency's
	decision in accordance with the agency's record retention policies.
	SECTION  3.    Article 56A.254, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
	amended to read as follows:
	Art.  56A.254.    PAYMENT OF COSTS FOR CERTAIN MEDICAL CARE.
	The attorney general may make a payment to or on behalf of an
	individual for the reasonable costs incurred for medical care
	provided in accordance with Sections [Section] 323.004, 323.053,
	and 323.054, Health and Safety Code.
	SECTION  4.    Article 56A.302, Code of Criminal Procedure, is