REFERENCE TITLE: reporting; untested sexual assault kits

State of Arizona Senate Fifty-second Legislature First Regular Session 2015

SB 1429

Introduced by Senators Hobbs, Contreras, Dalessandro, Miranda; Representative Mesnard: Senator Quezada

 

AN ACT

 

providing for reporting by criminal justice agencies on untested sexual assault collection kits.

 

 

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

 

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1.  Criminal justice agencies; inventory of sexual assault collection kits; report; department of public safety crime laboratory report on untested sexual assault collection kits; definitions

A.   By January 1, 2016, each criminal justice agency that is charged with the maintenance, storage and preservation of sexual assault collection kits shall conduct a physical inventory of all of the kits that are being stored by the agency and shall compile, in writing, a report containing the number of untested sexual assault collection kits in the possession of the agency, the date the sexual assault kit was collected and the reason why the kit is currently untested.  Each criminal justice agency shall also provide written notification if it does not have any untested sexual assault collection kits in its possession.  Each agency shall transmit the report to the director of the department of public safety's crime laboratory.

B.  On or before March 1, 2016, the department of public safety crime laboratory shall prepare and transmit a report to the chairman of the senate judiciary committee and the chairman of the house of representatives judiciary committee containing the number of untested sexual assault collection kits that are being stored by each criminal justice agency, the date the untested kit was collected and any reasons why the kits are untested.  The report must also include the name and contact information of each criminal justice agency that failed to submit the report required by subsection A of this section.

C.  For the purposes of this section:

1.  "Criminal justice agency" means any government agency, subunit of an agency or private agency that, through statutory authorization or a legal formal agreement with a governmental unit or agency, has the power of investigation, arrest, detention, prosecution, adjudication, treatment, supervision, rehabilitation or release of persons suspected, charged or convicted of a crime or that collects, stores, processes, transmits or disseminates criminal history record or crime information.

2.  "Forensic medical examination" means an examination provided to the victim of a sexually oriented criminal offense by a health care provider for the purpose of gathering and preserving evidence of a sexual assault for use in a court of law.

3.  "Sexual assault collection kit" means a human biological specimen or specimens collected from the victim of a sexually oriented criminal offense by a health care provider during a forensic medical examination.

4.  "Sexually oriented criminal offense" includes sexual abuse pursuant to section 13‑1404, Arizona Revised Statutes, and sexual assault pursuant to section 13‑1406, Arizona Revised Statutes.

5.  "Untested sexual assault collection kit" means a sexual assault collection kit that has not been submitted to the department of public safety's crime laboratory or a similar qualified laboratory for either a serology or deoxyribonucleic acid test.