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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 796
January Session, 2019
LCO No. 3480
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduced by:
(PH)
AN ACT CONCERNING SE XUAL ASSAULT FORENSIC EXAMINERS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 19a-112f of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019): 2
(a) There is established a Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners 3
Advisory Committee consisting of the following: (1) The Chief Court 4
Administrator, or the Chief Court Administrator's designee; [(2) the 5
Chief State's Attorney, or the Chief State's Attorney's designee; (3)] (2) 6
the Commissioner of Public Health, or the commissioner's designee; 7
[(4)] (3) the director of the Office of Victims Services, or the director's 8
designee; (4) the chairperson of the Commission on the 9
Standardization of the Collection of Evidence in Sexual Assault 10
Investigations, or the chairperson's designee; (5) a representative from 11
the Division of Scientific Services, appointed by the Commissioner of 12
Emergency Services and Public Protection; [(5) a representative from 13
the Division of State Police appointed by the Commissioner of 14
Emergency Services and Public Protection;] (6) the Victim Advocate, or 15
the Victim Advocate's designee; (7) the president of the Connecticut 16
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Hospital Association, or the president's designee; (8) the president of 17
the Connecticut College of Emergency Physicians, or the president's 18
designee; (9) one member from Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual 19
Violence, appointed by its board of directors; (10) [one member from 20
the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association, appointed by the 21
association; (11)] one member from the Connecticut Emergency Nurses 22
Association, appointed by the association; [and (12)] (11) one member 23
from the Connecticut Chapter of the International Association of 24
Forensic Nurses, appointed by the association; (12) one member from 25
the Connecticut Nurses Association, appointed by the association; and 26
(13) the program manager of the sexual assault forensic examiners 27
program established pursuant to subdivision (14) of subsection (b) of 28
section 54-203, as amended by this act, or the program manager's 29
designee. 30
(b) The committee shall [advise] recommend to the Office of Victim 31
Services [on the establishment and implementation of] policies and 32
procedures with regard to the sexual assault forensic examiners 33
program established pursuant to subdivision (14) of subsection (b) of 34
section 54-203, as amended by this act, and section 19a-112g, as 35
amended by this act. [The committee shall make specific 36
recommendations concerning: (1) The recruitment of registered nurses, 37
advanced practice registered nurses and physicians to participate in 38
such program; (2) the development of a specialized training course 39
concerning such program for registered nurses, advanced practice 40
registered nurses and physicians who participate in the program; (3) 41
the development of agreements between the Judicial Branch, the 42
Department of Public Health and acute care hospitals relating to the 43
scope of services offered under the program and hospital standards 44
governing the provision of such services; (4) individual case tracking 45
mechanisms; (5) utilization of medically accepted best practices; and 46
(6) the development of quality assurance measures. ] 47
Recommendations from the committee may include, but need not be 48
limited to, the following: (1) The certification process for individuals 49
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qualified to participate as sexual assault forensic examiners, as defined 50
in subsection (a) of section 19a-112e, as amended by this act; (2) 51
continuing education requirements for the maintenance and renewal 52
of such certification; (3) the development of quality assurance 53
measures to ensure the needs of victims of sexual assault are met; and 54
(4) such other related recommendations as determined by the 55
committee. 56
(c) [The Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners Advisory Committee 57
shall terminate on June 30, 2013.] Any recommendations of the 58
committee made pursuant to subsection (b) of this section shall be 59
presented to the director of the Office of Victim Services for 60
consideration. The director of the Office of Victim Services may 61
forward such recommendations to the Office of the Chief Court 62
Administrator. The Chief Court Administrator, in his or her discretion, 63
may direct the implementation of such recommendations as policies 64
and procedures pursuant to section 54-207a, as amended by this act. 65
Individuals qualified to participate as sexual assault forensic 66
examiners, as defined in subsection (a) of section 19a-112e, as amended 67
by this act, shall comply with all policies and procedures implemented 68
by the Chief Court Administrator to obtain certification and to remain 69
in good standing. 70
Sec. 2. Section 19a-112e of the general statutes is repealed and the 71
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019): 72
(a) As used in this section: 73
(1) "Emergency contraception" means one or more prescription 74
drugs used separately or in combination administered to or self-75
administered by a patient to prevent pregnancy, within a medically 76
recommended amount of time after sexual intercourse and provided 77
for that purpose, in accordance with professional standards of practice, 78
and determined to be safe by the United States Food and Drug 79
Administration. 80
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(2) "Emergency treatment" means any medical examination or 81
treatment provided in a licensed health care facility to a victim of 82
sexual assault following an alleged sexual assault. 83
(3) "Medically and factually accurate and objective" means verified 84
or supported by the weight of research conducted in compliance with 85
accepted scientific methods and published in peer-reviewed journals, 86
where applicable. 87
(4) "Victim of sexual assault" means any [female] person who alleges 88
or is alleged to have suffered an injury as a result of a sexual offense. 89
(5) "Sexual offense" means a violation of subsection (a) of section 90
53a-70, section 53a-70a or 53a-70b, subsection (a) of section 53a-71, 91
section 53a-72a or 53a-72b, subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 92
53a-86, subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 53a-87 or section 93
53a-90a, 53a-196a or 53a-196b. 94
(6) "Independent provider" means a physician licensed under 95
chapter 370, a physician assistant licensed under chapter 370, an 96
advanced practice registered nurse or registered nurse licensed under 97
chapter 378, or a nurse-midwife licensed under chapter 377, all of 98
whom are trained and certified pursuant to the certification process 99
implemented by the Chief Court Administrator pursuant to subsection 100
(c) of section 19a-112f, as amended by this act, to conduct a forensic 101
exam in accordance with the state of Connecticut Technical Guidelines 102
for Health Care Response to Victims of Sexual Assault, published by 103
the Commission on the Standardization of the Collection of Evidence 104
in Sexual Assault Investigations pursuant to section 19a-112a. 105
(7) "Sexual assault forensic examiner" or "sexual assault nurse 106
examiner" means a physician or physician assistant licensed pursuant 107
to chapter 370, a registered nurse or advanced practice registered nurse 108
licensed pursuant to chapter 378 or nurse midwife licensed pursuant to 109
chapter 377 who has successfully completed the certification process 110
and met all continuing education and recertification requirements 111
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implemented by the Chief Court Administrator pursuant to subsection 112
(c) of section 19a-112f, as amended by this act. 113
(8) "Health care facility" means (A) a hospital licensed under chapter 114
368v that has an emergency department, including any free-standing 115
emergency department, or (B) an infirmary operated by The University 116
of Connecticut at Storrs. 117
(b) The standard of care for each [licensed] health care facility that 118
provides emergency treatment to a victim of sexual assault shall 119
include promptly: 120
(1) Providing each victim of sexual assault with medically and 121
factually accurate and objective information relating to emergency 122
contraception; 123
(2) Informing such victim of sexual assault of the availability of 124
emergency contraception, its use and efficacy; and 125
(3) Providing emergency contraception to such victim of sexual 126
assault at the facility upon the request of such victim, except that a 127
licensed health care facility shall not be required to provide emergency 128
contraception to a victim of sexual assault who has been determined to 129
be pregnant through the administration of a pregnancy test approved 130
by the United States Food and Drug Administration. 131
(c) In order to comply with the standard of care requirements 132
prescribed in subsection (b) of this section, a [licensed] health care 133
facility [may contract with one or more independent providers to] 134
shall: (1) Ensure compliance at the facility with the standard of care 135
requirements prescribed in said subsection (b), and (2) conduct at the 136
facility a forensic exam of the sexual assault victim in accordance with 137
the state of Connecticut Technical Guidelines for Health Care 138
Response to Victims of Sexual Assault, published by the Commission 139
on the Standardization of the Collection of Evidence in Sexual Assault 140
Investigations pursuant to section 19a-112a. A health care facility may 141
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contract with one or more independent providers who has been 142
certified as a sexual assault forensic examiner pursuant to the 143
certification process implemented by the Chief Court Administrator 144
pursuant to subsection (c) of section 19a-112f, as amended by this act. 145
(d) No [licensed] health care facility that provides emergency 146
treatment to a victim of sexual assault shall determine such facility's 147
protocol for complying with the standard of care requirements 148
prescribed in subsection (b) of this section on any basis other than a 149
pregnancy test approved by the United States Food and Drug 150
Administration. 151
(e) No person shall use the title "sexual assault forensic examiner" or 152
"sexual assault nurse examiner", or any variant of such titles, without 153
successfully completing the certification process implemented by the 154
Chief Court Administrator pursuant to subsection (c) of section 19a-155
112f, as amended by this act. 156
Sec. 3. Section 19a-112g of the general statutes is repealed and the 157
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019): 158
[(a) As used in this section: 159
(1) "Sexual assault forensic examiner" means a registered nurse or 160
advanced practice registered nurse licensed pursuant to chapter 378 or 161
a physician licensed pursuant to chapter 370; and 162
(2) "Health care facility" means a facility (A) operated by an 163
institution of higher education, (B) licensed by the Department of 164
Public Health as an infirmary operated by an educational institution or 165
as an outpatient clinic, and (C) accredited by the Joint Commission or 166
the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care.] 167
[(b)] A sexual assault forensic examiner may provide immediate 168
care and treatment to a victim of sexual assault who is a patient in [an 169
acute care hospital or in] a health care facility and collect evidence 170
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pertaining to the investigation of any sexual assault in accordance with 171
the State of Connecticut Technical Guidelines for Health Care 172
Response to Victims of Sexual Assault, published by the Commission 173
on the Standardization of the Collection of Evidence in Sexual Assault 174
Investigations pursuant to section 19a-112a. Services provided by a 175
sexual assault forensic examiner shall be: (1) In accordance with the 176
policies and accreditation standards of the [acute care hospital or] 177
health care facility; and (2) pursuant to a written agreement entered 178
into by the [(A) acute care hospital or] health care facility [, (B) 179
Department of Public Health, and (C)] and the Office of Victim 180
Services concerning the training of identified health care providers and 181
participation of the [acute care hospital or] health care facility in the 182
sexual assault forensic examiners program. Nothing in this section 183
shall be construed as altering the scope of the practice of nursing as set 184
forth in section 20-87a. 185
Sec. 4. Subdivision (14) of subsection (b) of section 54-203 of the 186
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 187
thereof (Effective July 1, 2019): 188
(14) To (A) maintain, within available appropriations, a sexual 189
assault forensic examiners program that will train and make available 190
sexual assault forensic examiners to adolescent and adult victims of 191
sexual assault who are patients at participating health care facilities. In 192
order to maintain such program, the Office of Victim Services may 193
apply for, receive, allocate, disburse and account for grants of funds 194
made available by the United States, the state, foundations, 195
corporations and other businesses, agencies or individuals; or (B) 196
establish, within available appropriations, a training program for 197
health care professionals [in nonparticipating health care facilities] on 198
the care of and collection of evidence from adolescent and adult 199
victims of sexual assault; 200
Sec. 5. Section 54-207a of the general statutes is repealed and the 201
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019): 202
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The Office of the Chief Court Administrator shall prescribe such 203
policies and procedures, as deemed necessary, to implement the 204
provisions of sections 54-201 to 54-235, inclusive, and section 19a-112f, 205
as amended by this act, and may formulate standards for the uniform 206
application of the payment of compensation of claims. 207
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2019 19a-112f
Sec. 2 July 1, 2019 19a-112e
Sec. 3 July 1, 2019 19a-112g
Sec. 4 July 1, 2019 54-203(b)(14)
Sec. 5 July 1, 2019 54-207a
Statement of Purpose:
To establish a sexual assault forensic examiners program.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline,
except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is
not underlined.]