Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts Senate Bill S1079 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	SENATE DOCKET, NO. 364 FILED ON: 1/12/2025
3	3	SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1079
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Lydia Edwards
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act providing for the allowance of early evidence kits.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Lydia EdwardsThird Suffolk 1 of 6
16	16	SENATE DOCKET, NO. 364 FILED ON: 1/12/2025
17	17	SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1079
18	18	By Ms. Edwards, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1079) of Lydia Edwards for
19	19	legislation to provide for the allowance of early evidence kits in sexual assaults. The Judiciary.
20	20	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
21	21	_______________
22	22	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
23	23	(2025-2026)
24	24	_______________
25	25	An Act providing for the allowance of early evidence kits.
26	26	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
27	27	of the same, as follows:
28	28	1 SECTION 1. Chapter 6A is hereby amended by inserting after section 18Y the following
29	29	2section:-
30	30	3 Section 18Z (a)
31	31	4 “Sexual assault evidence collection kit” means physical evidence collected (1) by a
32	32	5qualified health care provider; (2) from the body or clothing of a living or deceased person;
33	33	6sexual assault evidence collection kit does not include a self-administered sexual assault
34	34	7evidence collection kit.
35	35	8 “Early Evidence Kits” Professional services that enable the early collection and storage
36	36	9of DNA, when accessing a traditional sexual assault forensic exam is not possible. The
37	37	10admissibility of such kits are subject to scrutiny in court.
38	38	11 SECTION 2. Section 79 of Chapter 233 is amended by inserting the following
39	39	12definition:- 2 of 6
40	40	13 “Hospital,” means a hospital licensed or certified by the department pursuant to section
41	41	1451 of chapter 111 or other applicable law, with an emergency department, and the teaching
42	42	15hospital of the University of Massachusetts Medical School as defined in section 1 of chapter
43	43	16111C.
44	44	17 SECTION 3. Section 97B of Chapter 41 of the General Laws is amended by removing
45	45	18third through fifth paragraphs and inserting place thereof, the following:-
46	46	19 At the time the evidence is obtained, a hospital licensed pursuant to Chapter 111 shall
47	47	20inform a victim of rape or sexual assault that the evidence of rape or sexual assault preserved in a
48	48	21kit shall be kept for a period of not less than 15 years. This notice shall be provided to the victim
49	49	22in writing by the hospital.
50	50	23 A governmental entity, including a local law enforcement agency, a district attorney's
51	51	24office or any other official body of the commonwealth or of a county, city or town, that is in
52	52	25possession of forensic evidence, as defined in section 220 of chapter 111 shall not destroy or
53	53	26dispose of: (i) a sexual assault evidence collection kit; or (ii) forensic evidence that is collected
54	54	27for its potential evidentiary value during the investigation of a rape or sexual assault unless one
55	55	28of the following occur: (i) the case for which the evidence was collected resulted in a conviction
56	56	29and the sentence has been completed; (ii) all suspects identified by testing a sexual assault
57	57	30evidence collection kit are deceased (iii) or the length of the statute of limitations for the
58	58	31identified crime whether or not that crime has been charged, and in no case shall the forensic
59	59	32evidence be retained for less than 15 years. Each governmental entity shall retain all such
60	60	33forensic evidence in a manner that is reasonably designed to preserve the forensic evidence and
61	61	34to prevent its destruction or deterioration. 3 of 6
62	62	35 On written request by the victim from whom the evidence was collected, a law
63	63	36enforcement agency with custody of a sexual assault evidence collection kit or other crime scene
64	64	37evidence relating to a sexual assault shall: (i) notify the victim no later than 60 days before the
65	65	38date of intended destruction or disposal of the evidence; or (ii) retain the evidence for 12 months
66	66	39longer than the time period specified in paragraph 3 of this subsection or for a time period agreed
67	67	40to by the victim and 3 the law enforcement agency.
68	68	41 The director of the crime laboratory within the department of state police and the forensic
69	69	42sciences advisory board established by section 184A of chapter 6, shall promulgate regulations
70	70	43governing the retention and preservation of forensic evidence by a governmental entity. The
71	71	44regulations shall include: (i) standards for maintaining the integrity of the materials over time;
72	72	45(ii) the designation of officials at each governmental entity with custodial responsibility; and (iii)
73	73	46requirements for contemporaneously recorded documentation of individuals having and
74	74	47obtaining custody of the forensic evidence; (iv) guidance on the use of early evidence kits; and
75	75	48(v) in consultation with the Consumer Protection Division of the Office of the Attorney General,
76	76	49educating consumers about the use of early evidence kits, including information regarding the
77	77	50kits’ admissibility in a criminal prosecution and identifying other resources for victims of sexual
78	78	51assault.
79	79	52 SECTION 4. Section 97B1/2 of Chapter 41 of the General Laws is amended by inserting
80	80	53after subsection (a) the following:-
81	81	54 (b) A health care provider that performs a sexual assault evidence collection kit exam on
82	82	55a victim of sexual assault shall provide the victim with: (i) contact information for the
83	83	56investigating law enforcement agency that the victim may contact about the status and results of 4 of 6
84	84	57the kit analysis; and (ii) written information describing the laws and policies governing the
85	85	58testing, preservation, and disposal of a sexual assault evidence collection kit; (iv) all available
86	86	59results of the kit analysis except results that would impede or compromise an ongoing
87	87	60investigation; and (v) contact information for the investigating law enforcement agency that the
88	88	61victim may contact about the status and results of the kit analysis.
89	89	62 SECTION 5. Section 97B1/2 of Chapter 41 of the General Laws is amended by striking
90	90	63clauses (b)-(d) and inserting the following:-
91	91	64 (c) The crime laboratory within the department of the state police or the police
92	92	65department of a municipality that operates a crime laboratory and has a population of more than
93	93	66150,000, in the case of a sexual assault alleged to have taken place in that municipality, shall test
94	94	67all sexual assault evidence kits within 30 days of receipt from local law enforcement.
95	95	68 (d) In instances where the crime laboratory within the department of the state police or
96	96	69the police department of a municipality that operates a crime laboratory has a population of less
97	97	70than 150,000, in the case of a sexual assault alleged to have taken place in that municipality, the
98	98	71laboratory may accept self-administered sexual assault evidence kit as defined in section 18Z of
99	99	72chapter 6A that if accepted shall be tested all sexual within 30 days of receipt from local law
100	100	73enforcement.
101	101	74 (d) Early evidence kits may be transferred to a law enforcement agency: (i) by a hospital
102	102	75or a child advocacy center within 30 days after the exam is performed; or (ii) by a government
103	103	76agency in possession of a kit, unless the agency is otherwise required to retain the kit by law or
104	104	77court rule. 5 of 6
105	105	78 (e) Except as provided in subsection Section 214 of Chapter 69 of the Acts of 2018, an
106	106	79investigating law enforcement agency that receives an early evidence kit must label the early
107	107	80evidence as such to differentiate between those collected by SANEs and those collected by
108	108	81alleged victims. An investigating law enforcement agency that receives an early evidence kit
109	109	82may: (i) submit the kit and all requested associated reference standards to a forensic laboratory
110	110	83for analysis within 30 days of receipt of the kit and all requested associated reference standards;
111	111	84and (ii) make use of certified sexual assault crisis programs or other qualified community–based
112	112	85sexual assault victim service organizations that can provide services and support to survivors of
113	113	86sexual assault.
114	114	87 (f) For the purpose of altering requirements for the storage and preservation of sexual
115	115	88assault testing, preservation, and disposal of a sexual assault evidence collection kit, an
116	116	89investigating law enforcement agency that receives a sexual assault evidence collection kit,
117	117	90within 30 days after a request by the victim from whom the evidence was collected, shall provide
118	118	91the victim with: (i) information about the status of the kit analysis; and (ii) all available results
119	119	92of the kit analysis except results that would impede or compromise an ongoing investigation.
120	120	93 (g) In cases where testing results in a DNA profile, the crime laboratory shall enter the
121	121	94full profile into CODIS and the state DNA database.
122	122	95 (h) Each sexual assault evidence kit shall be entered into the statewide sexual assault
123	123	96evidence kit tracking system pursuant to section 18X of Chapter 6A.
124	124	97 SECTION 6. Section 214 of chapter 69 of the acts of 2018 is hereby amended by striking
125	125	98out line XX after the words statute of limitations and inserting the following:- 6 of 6
126	126	99 An early evidence collection kit may be submitted to a forensic laboratory for analysis
127	127	100unless: (i) there is clear evidence disproving the allegation of sexual assault; (ii) the facts alleged,
128	128	101if true, could not be interpreted to violate a provision in sections 13B, 13B1/2, 13B3/4, 13F, 13H,
129	129	10222, 22A, 22B, 22C, 23, 23A, 23B, 24 or section 24B of chapter 265 or section 3 of chapter 272;
130	130	103(iii) the alleged victim from whom the evidence was collected declines to give consent for
131	131	104analysis; or (iv) the suspect’s profile has been collected for entry as a convicted offender for a
132	132	105qualifying offense in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) maintained by the Federal
133	133	106Bureau of Investigation and the suspect has pleaded guilty to the offense that led to the sexual
134	134	107assault evidence collection kit’s use. If a provision of subsection (i) of this section is determined
135	135	108to be satisfied after the submission of the victim’s sexual assault evidence collection kit for
136	136	109analysis, testing may be terminated or not initiated. A forensic laboratory that receives an early
137	137	110evidence collection kit and all requested associated reference standards for analysis may
138	138	111determine suitability and complete screening, testing, and analysis in a timely manner.
139	139	112 SECTION 7. Section 215 of chapter 69 of the acts of 2018 is hereby amended by
140	140	113inserting after subsection (b)(v) the following:-
141	141	114 (vi) remain anonymous and not file a criminal complaint and shall be informed that the
142	142	115victim may file a criminal complaint at a future time.