Rhode Island 2025 Regular Session

Rhode Island House Bill H5348 Compare Versions

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

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5	5	2025 -- H 5348
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7	7	LC000439
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9	9	S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D
10	10	IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
11	11	JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025
12	12	____________
13	13
14	14	A N A C T
15	15	RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- PREVENTION AND SUPPRESSION OF
16	16	CONTAGIOUS DISEASES -- HIV/AIDS
17	17	Introduced By: Representatives Ajello, Cruz, Felix, Tanzi, Craven, Shallcross Smith,
18	18	Speakman, Boylan, McGaw, and Furtado
19	19	Date Introduced: February 07, 2025
20	20	Referred To: House Judiciary
21	21
22	22
23	23	It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
24	24	WHEREAS, The Rhode Island House of Representatives passed House Resolution 5250, 1
25	25	creating a “Special Legislative Study Commission Ensuring Racial Equity and Optimizing Health 2
26	26	and Safety Laws Affecting Marginalized Individuals” (hereinafter “the Commission”) in 2021; and 3
27	27	WHEREAS, This thirteen member Commission specifically sought to draw from and 4
28	28	expand upon the significant research on the health and safety implications of laws related to 5
29	29	violence, exploitation, stigma, human trafficking and sexual health; laws that disproportionately 6
30	30	impact women, transgender individuals, and people of color; and 7
31	31	WHEREAS, Members of the Commission met seven times between November 2021 and 8
32	32	April 2023 and heard testimony from a variety of experts and individuals with lived experience in 9
33	33	the sex trade. This included public health testimony that supported the removal of mandatory HIV 10
34	34	testing laws; and 11
35	35	WHEREAS, The Commission issued a comprehensive final report on August 14, 2023, 12
36	36	calling for numerous recommendations. In relevant part, the report issued the following 13
37	37	recommendation on page 7: 14
38	38	Recommend the General Assembly repeal § 23-6.3-4(a)(7), which requires any individual 15
39	39	convicted of prostitution to have an HIV test performed on them; and 16
40	40	WHEREAS, States around the country have similarly amended laws in accordance with 17
41	41	public health data, recommendations by experts, and legislative task force findings. Nevada, 18
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45	45	Virginia, and Colorado recently made similar amendments to repeal mandatory HIV testing for 1
46	46	those arrested for prostitution crimes; and 2
47	47	WHEREAS, Existing Rhode Island law provides necessary access to resources for those 3
48	48	persons living with HIV that are arrested for commercial sexual activity that will stay intact. 4
49	49	SECTION 1. Section 23-6.3-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 23-6.3 entitled "Prevention 5
50	50	and Suppression of Contagious Diseases — HIV/AIDS" is hereby amended to read as follows: 6
51	51	23-6.3-4. Exceptions to consent requirements. 7
52	52	(a) A healthcare provider may test for the presence of HIV without obtaining consent from 8
53	53	the individual to be tested under the following conditions: 9
54	54	(1) When the individual to be tested is under one year of age; 10
55	55	(2) When a child between one and thirteen (13) years of age appears to be symptomatic for 11
56	56	HIV; 12
57	57	(3) When the individual to be tested is a minor under the care and authority of the 13
58	58	department of children, youth and families, and the director of that department certifies that an HIV 14
59	59	test is necessary to secure health or human services for that individual; 15
60	60	(4) In a licensed healthcare facility or healthcare setting, in the event that an occupational 16
61	61	health representative or physician, registered nurse practitioner, physician assistant, or nurse-17
62	62	midwife, not directly involved in the exposure, determines that an employee or emergency service 18
63	63	worker, other than one in a supervisory position to the person making the determination, had a 19
64	64	significant exposure to the blood and/or body fluids of a patient and the patient or the patient’s 20
65	65	guardian refuses to grant consent for an HIV test to determine whether the patient has HIV, then, 21
66	66	if a sample of the patient’s blood is available, that blood shall be tested for HIV. 22
67	67	(i) If a sample of the patient’s blood is not otherwise available and the patient refuses to 23
68	68	grant consent to draw blood, the employee or emergency service worker may petition the superior 24
69	69	court for a court order mandating that the test be performed. 25
70	70	(ii) Before a patient or a sample of the patient’s blood is required to undergo an HIV test, 26
71	71	the employee or emergency service worker must submit to a baseline HIV test within seventy-two 27
72	72	(72) hours of the exposure. 28
73	73	(iii) No person who determines that an employee or emergency service worker has 29
74	74	sustained a significant exposure and authorizes the HIV testing of a patient, nor any person or 30
75	75	healthcare facility who acts in good faith and recommends the test be performed, shall have any 31
76	76	liability as a result of their actions carried out under this chapter, unless those persons are proven 32
77	77	to have acted in bad faith. 33
78	78	(iv) For the purposes of this section, “emergency service worker” means a worker 34
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82	82	responding on behalf of a licensed ambulance/rescue service, or a fire department or a law 1
83	83	enforcement agency, who, in the course of his/her professional duties, has been exposed to bodily 2
84	84	fluids in circumstances that present a significant risk of transmission of HIV, and has completed a 3
85	85	pre-hospital exposure form in accordance with § 23-4.1-19. 4
86	86	(5) In an emergency, where due to a grave medical or psychiatric condition, and it is 5
87	87	impossible to obtain consent from the patient or, if applicable under state law, the patient’s parent, 6
88	88	guardian, or agent. 7
89	89	(6) As permitted under § 23-1-38 entitled “HIV Antibody Testing-Sperm Collection or 8
90	90	Donation.” 9
91	91	(7) Any individual convicted of a violation of any provisions of chapter 34.1 of title 11 10
92	92	entitled “Commercial Sexual Activity,” shall be required to be tested for HIV unless already 11
93	93	documented HIV positive. All individuals tested under this section shall be informed of their test 12
94	94	results. All individuals tested under this section who are determined to be injecting and/or intra-13
95	95	nasal drug users shall be referred to appropriate substance abuse treatment as outlined in § 23-6.3-14
96	96	3(e). 15
97	97	(8) Any individual convicted of possession of any controlled substance as defined in 16
98	98	chapter 28 of title 21 entitled “Uniform Controlled Substances Act,” that has been administered 17
99	99	with a hypodermic instrument, retractable hypodermic syringe, needle, intra-nasally, or any similar 18
100	100	instrument adapted for the administration of drugs shall be required to be tested for HIV unless 19
101	101	already documented HIV positive. 20
102	102	(9) All individuals tested under this section shall be informed of their test results. 21
103	103	(10) In accordance with the provisions of chapter 37 of title 11, entitled, “Sexual Assault,” 22
104	104	any individual who has admitted to or been convicted of or adjudicated wayward or delinquent by 23
105	105	reason of having committed any sexual offense involving penetration whether or not a sentence or 24
106	106	fine is imposed or probation granted, shall be ordered by the court upon petition of the victim, 25
107	107	immediate family members of the victim or legal guardian of the victim, to submit to a blood test 26
108	108	for the presence of a sexually transmitted disease including, but not limited to, HIV. All individuals 27
109	109	tested under this section shall be informed of their test results. 28
110	110	(11) In accordance with the provisions or § 42-56-37, entitled “HIV Testing,” every 29
111	111	individual who is committed to the adult correctional institutions to any criminal offense, after 30
112	112	conviction, is required to be tested for HIV. 31
113	113	(b) It is unlawful for any person to disclose to a third party the results of an individual’s 32
114	114	HIV test without the prior written consent of that individual, except in accordance with § 23-6.3-7. 33
115	115	SECTION 2. Section 11-34.1-12 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-34.1 entitled 34
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119	119	"Commercial Sexual Activity" is hereby amended to read as follows: 1
120	120	11-34.1-12. Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). 2
121	121	(a) Any person convicted of a violation of any provisions of this chapter shall be required 3
122	122	provided the option to be tested for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). No consent for the 4
123	123	testing shall be required. 5
124	124	(b) The department of health shall maintain sites for providing both anonymous and 6
125	125	confidential HIV testing, and HIV counseling and referral. Each site, funded by the department of 7
126	126	health, shall offer free testing, counseling and referral for indigent parties and other individuals 8
127	127	without health insurance, offer a sliding scale for payment for all other individuals and, in the case 9
128	128	of confidential testing, screen for ability to pay through a third-party insurer. In the case of 10
129	129	nonfunded sites for HIV testing, organizations and/or institutions performing the test shall offer 11
130	130	free testing, counseling and referral for indigent parties and other individuals without health 12
131	131	insurance. 13
132	132	(c) All persons tested under this section shall be provided pre-test and post-test counseling 14
133	133	by individuals trained by the department of health, as an HIV testing counselor, in accordance with 15
134	134	regulations promulgated by the department of health; provided, that the counseling shall be in 16
135	135	accordance with acceptable medical standards. 17
136	136	(d) All persons who are tested under this section, who are determined to be injecting drug 18
137	137	users, shall be referred to appropriate sources of substance abuse treatment by the HIV testing 19
138	138	counselor and/or the attending practitioner as follows: 20
139	139	(1) Those persons who test positive for HIV infection shall be given priority for those 21
140	140	outpatient substance abuse treatment programs that are sponsored or supported by the appropriate 22
141	141	state agency responsible for these services. 23
142	142	(2) Those persons who are injecting drug users and test negative for HIV infection shall be 24
143	143	referred, by the HIV testing counselor and/or attending practitioner, to the appropriate state agency 25
144	144	responsible for these services for earliest possible evaluation and treatment. 26
145	145	SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage. 27
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152	152	EXPLANATION
153	153	BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
154	154	OF
155	155	A N A C T
156	156	RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- PREVENTION AND SUPPRESSION OF
157	157	CONTAGIOUS DISEASES -- HIV/AIDS
158	158	***
159	159	This act would repeal the required HIV testing for an individual convicted under chapter 1
160	160	34.1 of title 11 ("commercial sexual activity"). It would also allow the option for HIV testing for 2
161	161	any person convicted under this chapter. 3
162	162	This act would take effect upon passage. 4
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