H.B. No. 2626
AN ACT
relating to the forensic medical examination of a sexual assault
victim who has not reported the assault to a law enforcement agency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 56.02(a), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) A victim, guardian of a victim, or close relative of a
deceased victim is entitled to the following rights within the
criminal justice system:
(1) the right to receive from law enforcement agencies
adequate protection from harm and threats of harm arising from
cooperation with prosecution efforts;
(2) the right to have the magistrate take the safety of
the victim or his family into consideration as an element in fixing
the amount of bail for the accused;
(3) the right, if requested, to be informed:
(A) by the attorney representing the state of
relevant court proceedings, including appellate proceedings, and
to be informed if those proceedings have been canceled or
rescheduled prior to the event; and
(B) by an appellate court of decisions of the
court, after the decisions are entered but before the decisions are
made public;
(4) the right to be informed, when requested, by a
peace officer concerning the defendant's right to bail and the
procedures in criminal investigations and by the district
attorney's office concerning the general procedures in the criminal
justice system, including general procedures in guilty plea
negotiations and arrangements, restitution, and the appeals and
parole process;
(5) the right to provide pertinent information to a
probation department conducting a presentencing investigation
concerning the impact of the offense on the victim and his family by
testimony, written statement, or any other manner prior to any
sentencing of the offender;
(6) the right to receive information regarding
compensation to victims of crime as provided by Subchapter B,
including information related to the costs that may be compensated
under that subchapter and the amount of compensation, eligibility
for compensation, and procedures for application for compensation
under that subchapter, the payment for a medical examination under
Article 56.06 for a victim of a sexual assault, and when requested,
to referral to available social service agencies that may offer
additional assistance;
(7) the right to be informed, upon request, of parole
procedures, to participate in the parole process, to be notified,
if requested, of parole proceedings concerning a defendant in the
victim's case, to provide to the Board of Pardons and Paroles for
inclusion in the defendant's file information to be considered by
the board prior to the parole of any defendant convicted of any
crime subject to this subchapter, and to be notified, if requested,
of the defendant's release;
(8) the right to be provided with a waiting area,
separate or secure from other witnesses, including the offender and
relatives of the offender, before testifying in any proceeding
concerning the offender; if a separate waiting area is not
available, other safeguards should be taken to minimize the
victim's contact with the offender and the offender's relatives and
witnesses, before and during court proceedings;
(9) the right to prompt return of any property of the
victim that is held by a law enforcement agency or the attorney for
the state as evidence when the property is no longer required for
that purpose;
(10) the right to have the attorney for the state
notify the employer of the victim, if requested, of the necessity of
the victim's cooperation and testimony in a proceeding that may
necessitate the absence of the victim from work for good cause;
(11) the right to counseling, on request, regarding
acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and testing for acquired
immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV) infection, antibodies to HIV, or infection with any other
probable causative agent of AIDS, if the offense is an offense under
Section 21.02, 21.11(a)(1), 22.011, or 22.021, Penal Code;
(12) the right to request victim-offender mediation
coordinated by the victim services division of the Texas Department
of Criminal Justice;
(13) the right to be informed of the uses of a victim
impact statement and the statement's purpose in the criminal
justice system, to complete the victim impact statement, and to
have the victim impact statement considered:
(A) by the attorney representing the state and
the judge before sentencing or before a plea bargain agreement is
accepted; and
(B) by the Board of Pardons and Paroles before an
inmate is released on parole; and
(14) to the extent [except as] provided by Articles
56.06 and 56.065 [Article 56.06(a)], for a victim of a sexual
assault, the right to a forensic medical examination if, within 96
hours of the sexual assault, the [sexual] assault is reported to a
law enforcement agency or a forensic medical examination is
otherwise conducted at a health care facility [within 96 hours of
the assault].
SECTION 2. The heading to Article 56.06, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
Art. 56.06. MEDICAL EXAMINATION FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIM
WHO HAS REPORTED ASSAULT; COSTS.
SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 56, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended by adding Article 56.065 to read as follows:
Art. 56.065. MEDICAL EXAMINATION FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIM
WHO HAS NOT REPORTED ASSAULT; COSTS. (a) In this article:
(1) "Crime laboratory" has the meaning assigned by
Article 38.35.
(2) "Department" means the Department of Public
Safety.
(3) "Sexual assault examiner" and "sexual assault
nurse examiner" have the meanings assigned by Section 420.003,
Government Code.
(b) This article applies to the following health care
facilities that provide diagnosis or treatment services to victims
of sexual assault:
(1) a general or special hospital licensed under
Chapter 241, Health and Safety Code;
(2) a general or special hospital owned by this state;
(3) an outpatient clinic; and
(4) a private physician's office.
(c) In accordance with Subchapter B, Chapter 420,
Government Code, and except as provided by Subsection (e), a health
care facility shall conduct a forensic medical examination of the
victim of an alleged sexual assault if:
(1) the victim arrives at the facility within 96 hours
after the assault occurred;
(2) the victim consents to the examination; and
(3) at the time of the examination the victim has not
reported the assault to a law enforcement agency.
(d) The department shall pay the appropriate fees, as set by
attorney general rule, for the forensic portion of the medical
examination and for the evidence collection kit if a physician,
sexual assault examiner, or sexual assault nurse examiner conducts
the forensic portion of the examination within 96 hours after the
alleged sexual assault occurred. The attorney general shall
reimburse the department for fees paid under this subsection.
(e) If a health care facility does not provide diagnosis or
treatment services to victims of sexual assault, the facility shall
refer a victim seeking a forensic medical examination under
Subsection (c) to a health care facility that provides services to
those victims.
(f) The department may develop procedures regarding the
submission or collection of additional evidence of the alleged
sexual assault other than through an examination as described by
this article.
(g) The department shall develop procedures for the
transfer and preservation of evidence collected under this article
to a crime laboratory or other suitable location designated by the
public safety director of the department. The receiving entity
shall preserve the evidence until the earlier of:
(1) the second anniversary of the date the evidence
was collected; or
(2) the date the victim or a legal representative of
the victim signs a written consent to release the evidence.
(h) The victim may not be required to:
(1) participate in the investigation or prosecution of
an offense as a condition of receiving a forensic medical
examination under this article; or
(2) pay for the forensic portion of the medical
examination or for the evidence collection kit.
(i) The attorney general and the department each shall adopt
rules as necessary to implement this article.
SECTION 4. Section 323.004(b), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) A health care facility providing care to a sexual
assault survivor shall provide the survivor with:
(1) a forensic medical examination in accordance with
Subchapter B, Chapter 420, Government Code, if the examination has
been requested [approved] by a law enforcement agency under Article
56.06, Code of Criminal Procedure, or is conducted under Article
56.065, Code of Criminal Procedure;
(2) a private area, if available, to wait or speak with
the appropriate medical, legal, or sexual assault crisis center
staff or volunteer until a physician, nurse, or physician assistant
is able to treat the survivor;
(3) access to a sexual assault program advocate, if
available, as provided by Article 56.045, Code of Criminal
Procedure;
(4) the information form required by Section 323.005;
(5) a private treatment room, if available;
(6) if indicated by the history of contact, access to
appropriate prophylaxis for exposure to sexually transmitted
infections; and
(7) the name and telephone number of the nearest
sexual assault crisis center.
SECTION 5. Section 323.005(a), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The department shall develop a standard information
form for sexual assault survivors that must include:
(1) a detailed explanation of the forensic medical
examination required to be provided by law, including a statement
that photographs may be taken of the genitalia;
(2) information regarding treatment of sexually
transmitted infections and pregnancy, including:
(A) generally accepted medical procedures;
(B) appropriate medications; and
(C) any contraindications of the medications
prescribed for treating sexually transmitted infections and
preventing pregnancy;
(3) information regarding drug-facilitated sexual
assault, including the necessity for an immediate urine test for
sexual assault survivors who may have been involuntarily drugged;
(4) information regarding crime victims compensation,
including:
(A) a statement that:
(i) a law enforcement agency will pay for
the forensic portion of an [the] examination requested by the
agency under Article 56.06, Code of Criminal Procedure, and for the
evidence collection kit; or
(ii) the Department of Public Safety will
pay the appropriate fees for the forensic portion of an examination
conducted under Article 56.065, Code of Criminal Procedure, and for
the evidence collection kit; and
(B) reimbursement information for the medical
portion of the examination;
(5) an explanation that consent for the forensic
medical examination may be withdrawn at any time during the
examination;
(6) the name and telephone number of sexual assault
crisis centers statewide; and
(7) information regarding postexposure prophylaxis
for HIV infection.
SECTION 6. (a) As soon as practicable after the effective
date of this Act, the attorney general shall adopt the rules
required by Article 56.065(i), Code of Criminal Procedure, as added
by this Act.
(b) As soon as practicable after the effective date of this
Act, the Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas shall
adopt the rules required by Article 56.065(i), Code of Criminal
Procedure, as added by this Act.
(c) The change in law made by this Act applies to a forensic
medical examination of an alleged sexual assault victim that is
conducted on or after the effective date of this Act. An
examination that is conducted before the effective date of this Act
is covered by the law in effect when the examination was conducted,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2626 was passed by the House on April
22, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 147, Nays 0, 1 present, not
voting; that the House refused to concur in Senate amendments to
H.B. No. 2626 on May 14, 2009, and requested the appointment of a
conference committee to consider the differences between the two
houses; and that the House adopted the conference committee report
on H.B. No. 2626 on May 27, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 142,
Nays 0, 2 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2626 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 5, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 29, Nays 0;
at the request of the House, the Senate appointed a conference
committee to consider the differences between the two houses; and
that the Senate adopted the conference committee report on H.B. No.
2626 on May 30, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor