By: Nelson S.B. No. 745
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to review and verification procedures, and allowing
certain claimants to file an application under the Crime Victims'
Compensation Act; and the administration of the Sexual Assault
Prevention and Crisis Services Act.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 56.39(a), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) An order for a mental or physical examination or an
autopsy as provided by Article 56.38(c)(2) [56.38(c)(3)] may be
made for good cause shown on notice to the individual to be examined
and to all persons who have appeared.
SECTION 2. Article 56.61, Code of Criminal Procedure, as
amended by Chapters 496 (S.B. 808) and 716 (H.B. 2916), Acts of the
81st Legislature, Regular Session, 2009, is reenacted and amended
to read as follows:
Art. 56.61. COMPENSATION FOR CERTAIN CRIMINALLY INJURIOUS
CONDUCT PROHIBITED; EXCEPTION. (a) Except as provided by
Subsection (b), the attorney general may not award compensation for
pecuniary loss arising from criminally injurious conduct that
occurred before January 1, 1980.
(b) The attorney general may award compensation for
pecuniary loss arising from criminally injurious conduct that
occurred before January 1, 1980, if:
(1) the conduct was in violation of Chapter 19, Penal
Code;
(2) the identity of the victim is established by a law
enforcement agency on or after January 1, 2009[, and the pecuniary
loss was incurred with respect to the victim's funeral or burial on
or after that date]; and
(3) the claimant files the application for
compensation within the limitations period provided by Article
56.37(e).
SECTION 3. The change in law made by Section 2 applies only
to criminally injurious conduct committed against a victim whose
identity is established by a law enforcement agency on or after
January 1, 2009. Criminally injurious conduct committed against a
victim whose identity is established by a law enforcement agency
before January 1, 2009, is governed by the law in effect on the date
the victim's identity was established, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. Chapter 420, Government Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 420.003. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Accredited crime laboratory" means a crime
laboratory, as that term is defined by Article 38.35, Code of
Criminal Procedure, that has been accredited under Section
411.0205.
(21-a) "Active criminal case" means a case:
(A) in which:
(i) a sexual assault has been reported to a
law enforcement agency; and
(ii) physical evidence of the assault has
been submitted to the agency or an accredited crime laboratory
under this chapter for analysis; and
(B) for which:
(i) the statute of limitations has not run
with respect to the prosecution of the sexual assault; or
(ii) a DNA profile was obtained that is
eligible under Section 420.043 for comparison with DNA profiles in
the state database or CODIS DNA database.
(31-b) "Advocate" means a person who provides advocacy
services as an employee or volunteer of a sexual assault program.
(41-c) "Department" means the Department of Public
Safety of the State of Texas.
(51-d) "Law enforcement agency" means a state or local
law enforcement agency in this state with jurisdiction over the
investigation of a sexual assault.
(26) "Program" means a sexual assault program "Minimum
services" means the following services to address sexual assault:
(A) a 24-hour crisis hotline;
(B) crisis intervention;
(C) public education;
(D) advocacy; and
(E) accompaniment to hospitals, law enforcement
offices, prosecutors' offices, and courts.
(3) "Service" means the Sexual Assault Prevention and
Crisis Service.
(47) "Sexual assault" means any act or attempted act
as described by Section 21.02, 21.11, 22.011, 22.021, or 25.02,
Penal Code.
(58) "Sexual assault examiner" means a person who uses
an attorney general service -approved evidence collection kit and
protocol to collect and preserve evidence of a sexual assault or
other sex offense.
(69) "Sexual assault nurse examiner" means a
registered nurse who has completed an attorney general
service-approved examiner training course described by Section
420.011 and who is certified according to minimum standards
prescribed by attorney general rule.
(710) "Sexual assault program" means any local public
or private nonprofit corporation, independent of a law enforcement
agency or prosecutor's office, that is operated as an independent
program or as part of a municipal, county, or state agency and that
provides the minimum services established by this chapter.
(11) "State sexual assault coalition" means an
organization that has been identified as the state sexual assault
coalition by a state or federal agency authorized to make the
designation.
(812) "Survivor" means an individual who is a victim
of a sexual assault, regardless of whether a report or conviction is
made in the incident.
Sec. 420.004. SERVICESEXUAL ASSAULT PREVENTION AND CRISIS
SERVICES PROGRAM AND RULES. (a) The attorney general administers
the Sexual Assault Prevention and Crisis Services is a division in
the office of the attorney general Program and may delegate a power,
duty, or responsibility given to the attorney general under this
chapter to a person in the attorney general's office.
(b) The attorney general may adopt rules necessary to
implement relating to assigning service areas, monitoring
services, distributing funds, and collecting information from
programs in accordance with this chapter.
(c) A proposed rule regarding attorney general grant
funding under this chapter must be provided to grant recipients at
least 60 days before the date of adoption.
Sec. 420.005. GRANTS. (a) The attorney general may award
grants to sexual assault programs; state sexual assault coalitions;
statewide programs; or organizations for the purposes of conducting
activities described by 420.008. Grants may be awarded in order to:
programs described by Section 420.008. A grant may not result in
the reduction of the financial support a program receives from
another source.
(1) provide services for survivors of sexual assault;
(2) promote development of sexual assault programs or
to standardize the quality of services for survivors of sexual
assault;
(3) prevent sexual violence; or
(4) conduct activities described by Section 420.008.
(b) The attorney general may by rule determine eligibility
requirements for any grant provided under this chapter. The
attorney general may require grant recipients to offer the minimum
services for at least nine months before receiving a grant.require
that to be eligible for a grant, certain programs must provide at a
minimum:
(1) a 24-hour crisis hotline;
(2) crisis intervention;
(3) public education;
(4) advocacy and accompaniment to hospitals, law
enforcement offices, prosecutors' offices, and courts for
survivors and their family members; and
(5) crisis intervention volunteer training.
(c) The attorney general by rule shallmay require a program
receiving a grant recipients under this chapter to submit financial
and programmatic reports. The attorney general may also require
grant recipients to continue to offer the minimum services during
the grant period. grant to:
(1) submit quarterly and annual financial reports to
the attorney general;
(2) submit to an annual independent financial audit;
(3) cooperate with the attorney general during
site-monitoring visits; and
(4) offer the minimum services described by Subsection
(b) for at least nine months before receiving a grant.
(d) This section does not prohibit a program grant
recipients from offering any additional service, including a
service for sexual assault offenders.
(e) A grant is governed by Chapter 783 and rules adopted
under that chapter.
(f) The receipt of grant money by a program may be suspended
in case of a dispute about the eligibility of the program to receive
the money under this chapter. A hearing on the dispute must be held
within a reasonable time, as established by rule by the attorney
general.
Sec. 420.006. SPECIAL PROJECTS. The attorney general may
consult and contract with or award grants to local sexual assault
programs, state sexual assault coalitions, and statewide programs
for special projects to prevent sexual assault and improve services
to survivors.
Sec. 420.007. FUNDING. (a) The attorney general may
receive grants, gifts, or appropriations of money from the federal
government, the state legislature, or private sources to finance
the grant program created by this chapter.
(b) The attorney general may not use more than 15 percent of
the annual legislative appropriation to the service attorney
general for the administration of this chapter.
(c) The sexual assault prevention and crisis services fund
is a special account in the general revenue fund. Money deposited
to the credit of the fund may be used only as provided by this
subchapter and is not available for any other purpose.
Sec. 420.009. REPORT. The attorney general shall publish a
report on the service not later than December 10 of each
even-numbered year. The report must summarize reports from
programs receiving grants from the attorney general grant
recipients under this chapter, analyze the effectiveness of the
grants, and include information on the expenditure of funds
authorized by this chapter, the services provided, the number of
persons receiving services, and any other information relating to
the provision of sexual assault services. A copy of the report
shall be submitted to the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of
the house of representatives, Legislative Budget Board, Senate
Committee on Health and Human Services or its successor committee,
and House Committee on Human Services or its successor committee.
Sec. 420.010. CONFIDENTIALITY. The attorney general may
not disclose any information received from reports, collected case
information, or site-monitoring visits that would identify a person
working at or receiving services from a sexual assault program.
Sec. 420.011. ATTORNEY GENERAL CERTIFICATIONS AND RULES.
(a) The attorney general may adopt rules necessary to implement
this chaptersection. A proposed rule must be provided to programs
receiving grants at least 60 days before the date of adoption.
(b) The attorney general shall adopt rules establishing
minimum standards for the certification of a sexual assault
training program and the renewal of that certification by the
program. The certification is valid for two years from the date of
issuance. The attorney general shall also adopt rules establishing
minimum standards for the suspension, decertification, or
probation of a sexual assault training program that violates this
chapter.
(c) The attorney general shall adopt rules establishing
minimum standards for the certification of a sexual assault nurse
examiner and the renewal of that certification by the nurse
examiner, including standards for examiner training courses and for
the interstate reciprocity of sexual assault nurse examiners. The
certification is valid for two years from the date of
issuance. The attorney general shall also adopt rules
establishing minimum standards for the suspension,
decertification, or probation of a sexual assault nurse examiner
who violates this chapter.
SUBCHAPTER B. COLLECTION AND PRESERVATION OF EVIDENCE OF SEX
OFFENSE
Sec. 420.031. EVIDENCE COLLECTION PROTOCOL; KITS. (a) The
serviceattorney general shall develop and distribute to law
enforcement agencies and proper medical personnel an evidence
collection protocol that shall include collection procedures and a
list of requirements for the contents of an evidence collection kit
for use in the collection and preservation of evidence of a sexual
assault or other sex offense. Medical or law enforcement personnel
collecting evidence of a sexual assault or other sex offense shall
use an serviceattorney general-approved evidence collection kit
and protocol.
(b) An evidence collection kit must contain the following
items:
(1) items to collect and preserve evidence of a sexual
assault or other sex offense; and
(2) any other items recommended by the Evidence
Collection Protocol Advisory Committee of the attorney general and
determined necessary for the kit by the attorney general.
(c) In developing the evidence collection kit and
protocolprocedures and requirements, the serviceattorney general
shall consult with individuals and organizations having knowledge
and experience in the issues of sexual assault and other sex
offenses.
(d) A law enforcement agency that requests a medical
examination of a victim of an alleged sexual assault or other sex
offense for use in the investigation or prosecution of the offense
shall pay the costs of the evidence collection kit. This subsection
does not require a law enforcement agency to pay any costs of
treatment for injuries.
(e) Evidence collected under this section may not be
released unless a signed, written consent to release the evidence
is obtained as provided by Section 420.0735.
(f) Failure to comply with evidence collection procedures
or requirements adopted under this section does not affect the
admissibility of the evidence in a trial of the offense.
SUBCHAPTER C. ADVOCATES FOR SURVIVORS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT
Sec. 420.051. ADVOCATES FOR SURVIVORS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT.
An individual may act as an advocate for survivors of sexual assault
for the purposes of providing services under the Code of Criminal
Procedure Article 56.045, if the individual has completed a sexual
assault training program certified by the department attorney
general and is employed by or a volunteer of a sexual assault
program:
(1) is employed by a sexual assault program; or
(2) provides services through a sexual assault program
as a volunteer under the supervision of an advocate.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.