SLS 22RS-113 ORIGINAL
2022 Regular Session
SENATE BILL NO. 147
BY SENATOR MIZELL
SEX OFFENSES. Provides for sexual assault survivors to have access to certain documents
from the forensic medical exam. (8/1/22)
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 40:1216.1(G) and to enact R.S. 40:1216.1(H), relative to
3 procedures for victims of sex offenses; to require that healthcare providers make
4 certain records available to sexual assault survivors; to provide relative to documents
5 requested by the victim after a forensic medical examination has been performed;
6 and to provide for related matters.
7 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
8 Section 1. R.S. 40:1216.1(G) is hereby amended and reenacted and R.S.
9 40:1216.1(H) is hereby enacted to read as follows:
10 ยง1216.1. Procedures for victims of a sexually-oriented criminal offense; immunity;
11 regional plans; maximum allowable costs; definitions; documents
12 requested by victim
13 * * *
14 G. (1) Whether or not the adult victim chooses to report the offense, the
15 healthcare provider shall make a report containing the following items
16 available, if requested by the victim, within ten days of the examination, or as
17 soon as available, but no later than one hundred twenty days from the date of
Page 1 of 3
Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 147
SLS 22RS-113 ORIGINAL
1 the examination:
2 (a) Examination of physical trauma.
3 (b) Patient interview, including medical history, triage, and consultation.
4 (c) Photographic documentation.
5 (d) When determined necessary by the healthcare provider, results of an
6 alcohol-and-drug-facilitated sexual assault assessment and toxicology screening.
7 (2) The items provided for in this Subsection shall be made available at
8 no cost to the victim and may only be released to the victim. This release does
9 not invalidate the victim's reasonable expectation of privacy nor does the record
10 become a public record after the release to the victim.
11 H. For purposes of this Section the following definitions apply:
12 (1) "Forensic medical examination" has the same meaning as defined in R.S.
13 15:622.
14 (2) "Healthcare provider" means either of the following:
15 (a) A physician or other healthcare practitioner licensed, certified, registered,
16 or otherwise authorized to perform specified healthcare services consistent with state
17 law.
18 (b) A facility or institution providing healthcare services, including but not
19 limited to a hospital or other licensed inpatient center, ambulatory surgical or
20 treatment center, skilled nursing facility, inpatient hospice facility, residential
21 treatment center, diagnostic, laboratory, or imaging center, or rehabilitation or other
22 therapeutic health setting.
23 (3) "Healthcare services" means services, items, supplies, or drugs for the
24 diagnosis, prevention, treatment, cure, or relief of a health condition, illness, injury,
25 or disease ancillary to a sexually-oriented criminal offense.
26 (4) "Sexually-oriented criminal offense" has the same meaning as defined in
27 R.S. 15:622.
Page 2 of 3
Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 147
SLS 22RS-113 ORIGINAL
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Whitney Kauffeld.
DIGEST
SB 147 Original 2022 Regular Session Mizell
Present law provides that a healthcare provider must treat any patient who presents
themselves for treatment as a victim of a sexually-oriented criminal offense and conduct
forensic medical exams and preserve any evidence obtained for law enforcement to collect.
Proposed law retains present law.
Proposed law permits the victim of a sexually-oriented criminal offense to request and
receive from a healthcare provider, whether or not the incident was reported to law
enforcement, certain documents generated from a forensic medical exam, to include reports
written by the sexual-assault nurse examiner (SANE), including examination of physical
trauma, patient interview, medical history, triage and consultation, photographic
documentation, results from alcohol-and-drug-facilitated sexual assault assessment and
toxicology screening.
Proposed law requires that the healthcare provider produce those documents upon request
of victim ten days after examination or as soon as available, but no later than 120 days from
the date of examination.
Proposed law provides that the items to be provided pursuant to the proposed law are to be
provided at no cost to the victim and may only be produced to the victim. Proposed law
further provides that these records are not public records.
Effective August 1, 2022.
(Amends R.S. 40:1216.1(G); adds R.S. 40:1216.1(H))
Page 3 of 3
Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions.