2018 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE BILL NO. 101
BY SENATORS MORRELL, ALARIO, APPEL, BARROW, BISHOP, BOUDREAUX,
CARTER, COLOMB, CORTEZ, DONAHUE, ERDEY, GATTI,
HEWITT, JOHNS, LONG, MILKOVICH, MILLS, MIZELL, GARY
SMITH AND WARD AND REPRESENTATIVES LEGER AND
MORENO
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact Chapter 3-C of Title 15 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950,
3 comprised of R.S. 15:555 and 556 and to enact R.S. 36:706(D), relative to sexual
4 assault collection kits and forensic medical examinations; to create the Louisiana
5 Sexual Assault Oversight Commission; to provide relative to the membership,
6 meetings, quorum, compensation, and duties of the Louisiana Sexual Assault
7 Oversight Commission; to provide relative to the office of the attorney general; and
8 to provide for related matters.
9 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
10 Section 1. Chapter 3-C of Title 15 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950,
11 comprised of R.S. 15:555 and 556, is hereby amended and reenacted to read as follows:
12 CHAPTER 3-C. LOUISIANA SEXUAL ASSAULT TASK FORCE
13 OVERSIGHT COMMISSION
14 §555. Louisiana Sexual Assault Task Force Oversight Commission; creation;
15 membership; meetings
16 A. The Louisiana Sexual Assault Task Force Oversight Commission is
17 hereby created within the Department of Justice, office of the attorney general. The
18 task force commission shall consist of twenty-five the following members as
19 follows:
20 (1) The executive director of the Louisiana District Attorneys Association or
21 his designee.
22 (2) The executive director of the Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual
23 Assault or her his designee.
24 (3) The Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner/Sexual Assault Response Team
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1 (SANE/SART) program coordinator of the Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual
2 Assault or her designee.
3 (4) The executive director of the Louisiana Sheriffs' Association, or his
4 designee.
5 (5)(4) The executive director of the Louisiana Association of Chiefs of
6 Police, or his designee.
7 (6) The president of the Louisiana District Judges Association, or his
8 designee.
9 (7)(5) The executive director of the Louisiana Commission on Law
10 Enforcement and the Administration of Criminal Justice, or his designee.
11 (8)(6) The president of the Louisiana State Coroner's Association, or his
12 designee.
13 (9)(7) The director of the Louisiana State Police Crime Laboratory, or his
14 designee.
15 (10) The president of the Louisiana Association of Forensic Scientists, or his
16 designee.
17 (11)(8) The president of the Louisiana Hospital Association, or her his
18 designee.
19 (12)(9) The secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health, or his designee.
20 (13) The executive director of the Louisiana State Board of Nursing, or his
21 designee.
22 (14) The executive director of the Louisiana CASA Association, or his
23 designee.
24 (15) The president of the Louisiana Children's Advocacy Center, or his
25 designee.
26 (16) The secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services, or his
27 designee.
28 (17) The assistant secretary of child welfare of the Department of Children
29 and Family Services, or his designee.
30 (18) The medical director of the Child At Risk Evaluation Center at
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1 Children's Hospital of New Orleans, or his designee.
2 (19)(10) The attorney general, or his designee.
3 (20) A member of the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers selected by
4 its chief executive officer, or his designee.
5 (21) The superintendent of state police, or his designee.
6 (22) The director of the Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, or
7 his designee.
8 (23) The president of the Louisiana Juvenile Judges Association, or his
9 designee.
10 (24)(11) A member of the House of Representatives appointed by the speaker
11 of the House of Representatives, or his the member's designee.
12 (25)(12) A member of the Senate appointed by the president of the Senate,
13 or his the member's designee.
14 (13) The governor or his designee.
15 (14) The chief sexual assault forensic nurse examiner from each of the
16 two Level I trauma centers in Louisiana, University Medical Center – New
17 Orleans and University Health Shreveport, as designated by the chief executive
18 officer of each of the two hospitals.
19 (15) The director of the North Louisiana Criminalistics Laboratory or
20 his designee.
21 (16) A person designated by the executive director of the Louisiana
22 Foundation Against Sexual Assault to represent the rights of sexual assault
23 victims.
24 B. Members of the task force commission shall serve at the pleasure of the
25 appointing authority and without compensation. Travel expenses, per diem, and
26 other expenses may be paid by the member's employer or appointing authority.
27 C. The attorney general or his designee shall serve as chairman, and his
28 duties shall be established by the task force commission. The office of the attorney
29 general shall provide staff and administrative services needed by the
30 commission to carry out the duties set forth in R.S. 15:556.
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1 C.D. The task force commission shall fix a time and place for its regular
2 meeting meetings and shall meet at least once during each calendar month every
3 three months. Additional special or regular meetings may be held upon the call of
4 the chairman.
5 D.E. A majority of the membership present shall constitute a quorum and
6 shall be necessary to take action. A majority of the total commission membership
7 shall constitute a quorum and any official action by the commission shall
8 require an affirmative vote of a majority of the quorum present and voting.
9 §556. Duties of the task force commission
10 The task force shall examine issues relating to forensic examination of sexual
11 assault victims and investigation of sexual assault cases, including but not limited to
12 the following:
13 (1) The task force shall review and analyze all applicable state and federal
14 laws, rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and practices pertaining to all of the
15 following:
16 (a) What entities are performing and should perform forensic examinations
17 of sexual assault victims.
18 (b) What entities are financially responsible and should be financially
19 responsible for the forensic evidence collection from the victim of a sexual assault.
20 (c) Which entities are being billed for the forensic examinations and which
21 entities should be billed for such examinations.
22 (d) What evidence is collected from the victim, how it is preserved, how it
23 is analyzed, and what are the best practices in these areas.
24 (e) What standards are being followed in the investigation of sexual assault
25 cases and what standards should be followed.
26 (f) What training is provided and what training should be provided to law
27 enforcement officers and staff of the Department of Children and Family Services
28 investigating sexual assault cases or cases of suspected sexual assault.
29 (g) What criteria are used and what criteria should be used in designating
30 cases as unfounded or in reclassifying cases involving completed or attempted illegal
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1 sexual activity.
2 (h) The current reporting requirements and those recommended by the
3 Department of Children and Family Services regarding the number of allegations of
4 sexual abuse or assault reported and investigated and the number of those which are
5 validated or not validated.
6 (i) Reports by teachers, ministers, and other mandatory reporters to the
7 Department of Children and Family Services and law enforcement agencies,
8 standards for dual investigations and whether mandatory reporters should report to
9 both law enforcement agencies and the Department of Children and Family Services.
10 (2) The task force shall report its findings and recommendations to the
11 governor, the president of the Senate, and the speaker of the House of
12 Representatives not later than December 31, 2012.
13 A.(1) The commission shall develop recommendations for a standardized
14 sexual assault collection kit and protocols for forensic medical examinations of
15 victims of sexually oriented criminal offenses to be used statewide. The
16 recommendations shall include but are not limited to recommendations for the
17 physical dimensions, labeling, and contents of the collection kit, as well as
18 recommendations regarding the collection and preservation of evidence from
19 the examination and the identification of appropriate entities to perform the
20 examination.
21 (2) The commission shall continuously review its standards and protocols
22 and make subsequent recommendations as needed to ensure that the sexual
23 assault collection kit and forensic medical examination protocols are up to date
24 with technological advancements and best practices.
25 B. The office of the attorney general shall adopt all rules necessary to
26 implement the recommendations for a standardized sexual assault collection kit
27 and protocols for forensic medical examinations and any subsequent
28 recommendations. All rules shall be adopted pursuant to the provisions of the
29 Administrative Procedure Act.
30 Section 2. R.S. 36:706(D) is hereby enacted to read as follows:
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1 §706. Transfer of boards, commissions, and agencies to Department of Justice
2 * * *
3 D. The Louisiana Sexual Assault Oversight Commission, R.S. 15:555 et
4 seq., is placed within the Department of Justice and shall perform and exercise
5 its powers, duties, functions, and responsibilities as provided by law.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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