Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB745 Compare Versions

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1	1	83R25569 ADM-F
2	2	By: Nelson S.B. No. 745
3	3	(Otto)
4	4	Substitute the following for S.B. No. 745: No.
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to sexual assault prevention and crisis services and to
10	10	the administration of the Crime Victims' Compensation Act.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Article 56.39(a), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
13	13	amended to read as follows:
14	14	(a) An order for a mental or physical examination or an
15	15	autopsy as provided by Article 56.38(c)(2) [56.38(c)(3)] may be
16	16	made for good cause shown on notice to the individual to be examined
17	17	and to all persons who have appeared.
18	18	SECTION 2. Article 56.61, Code of Criminal Procedure, as
19	19	amended by Chapters 496 (S.B. 808) and 716 (H.B. 2916), Acts of the
20	20	81st Legislature, Regular Session, 2009, is reenacted and amended
21	21	to read as follows:
22	22	Art. 56.61. COMPENSATION FOR CERTAIN CRIMINALLY INJURIOUS
23	23	CONDUCT PROHIBITED; EXCEPTION. (a) Except as provided by
24	24	Subsection (b), the attorney general may not award compensation for
25	25	pecuniary loss arising from criminally injurious conduct that
26	26	occurred before January 1, 1980.
27	27	(b) The attorney general may award compensation for
28	28	pecuniary loss arising from criminally injurious conduct that
29	29	occurred before January 1, 1980, if:
30	30	(1) the conduct was in violation of Chapter 19, Penal
31	31	Code;
32	32	(2) the identity of the victim is established by a law
33	33	enforcement agency on or after January 1, 2009[, and the pecuniary
34	34	loss was incurred with respect to the victim's funeral or burial on
35	35	or after that date]; and
36	36	(3) the claimant files the application for
37	37	compensation within the limitations period provided by Article
38	38	56.37(e).
39	39	SECTION 3. Section 420.003, Government Code, is amended by
40	40	adding Subdivisions (1-e) and (7-a) and amending Subdivisions (5),
41	41	(6), and (7) to read as follows:
42	42	(1-e) "Minimum services" means:
43	43	(A) a 24-hour crisis hotline;
44	44	(B) crisis intervention;
45	45	(C) public education;
46	46	(D) advocacy; and
47	47	(E) accompaniment to hospitals, law enforcement
48	48	offices, prosecutors' offices, and courts.
49	49	(5) "Sexual assault examiner" means a person who uses
50	50	an attorney general-approved [a service-approved] evidence
51	51	collection kit and protocol to collect and preserve evidence of a
52	52	sexual assault or other sex offense.
53	53	(6) "Sexual assault nurse examiner" means a registered
54	54	nurse who has completed an attorney general-approved [a
55	55	service-approved] examiner training course described by Section
56	56	420.011 and who is certified according to minimum standards
57	57	prescribed by attorney general rule.
58	58	(7) "Sexual assault program" means any local public or
59	59	private nonprofit corporation, independent of a law enforcement
60	60	agency or prosecutor's office, that is operated as an independent
61	61	program or as part of a municipal, county, or state agency and that
62	62	provides the minimum services to adult survivors of stranger and
63	63	non-stranger sexual assault [established by this chapter].
64	64	(7-a) "State sexual assault coalition" means a
65	65	statewide nonprofit organization that has been identified as a
66	66	state sexual assault coalition by a state or federal agency
67	67	authorized to make that designation.
68	68	SECTION 4. Section 420.004, Government Code, is amended to
69	69	read as follows:
70	70	Sec. 420.004. ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM [SERVICE]. [(a)]
71	71	The attorney general shall administer the Sexual Assault Prevention
72	72	and Crisis Services Program and may delegate a power or duty given
73	73	to the attorney general under this chapter to an employee in the
74	74	attorney general's office [Service is a division in the office of
75	75	the attorney general].
76	76	[(b) The attorney general may adopt rules relating to
77	77	assigning service areas, monitoring services, distributing funds,
78	78	and collecting information from programs in accordance with this
79	79	chapter.]
80	80	SECTION 5. Sections 420.005(a), (b), and (d), Government
81	81	Code, are amended to read as follows:
82	82	(a) For purposes described by Section 420.008, the [The]
83	83	attorney general may award grants to sexual assault programs, state
84	84	sexual assault coalitions, and other appropriate local and
85	85	statewide programs and organizations related to sexual assault
86	86	[programs described by Section 420.008. A grant may not result in
87	87	the reduction of the financial support a program receives from
88	88	another source].
89	89	(b) The attorney general may by rule:
90	90	(1) determine eligibility requirements for any grant
91	91	awarded under this chapter;
92	92	(2) require a grant recipient to offer minimum
93	93	services for not less than nine months before receiving a grant and
94	94	to continue to offer minimum services during the grant period; and
95	95	(3) require a grant recipient to submit financial and
96	96	programmatic reports [require that to be eligible for a grant,
97	97	certain programs must provide at a minimum:
98	98	[(1) a 24-hour crisis hotline;
99	99	[(2) crisis intervention;
100	100	[(3) public education;
101	101	[(4) advocacy and accompaniment to hospitals, law
102	102	enforcement offices, prosecutors' offices, and courts for
103	103	survivors and their family members; and
104	104	[(5) crisis intervention volunteer training].
105	105	(d) This section does not prohibit a grant recipient
106	106	[program] from offering any additional service, including a service
107	107	for sexual assault offenders.
108	108	SECTION 6. Section 420.006, Government Code, is amended to
109	109	read as follows:
110	110	Sec. 420.006. SPECIAL PROJECTS. The attorney general may
111	111	consult and contract with or award grants to entities described by
112	112	Section 420.005(a) [local and statewide programs] for special
113	113	projects to prevent sexual assault and improve services to
114	114	survivors.
115	115	SECTION 7. Section 420.007(b), Government Code, is amended
116	116	to read as follows:
117	117	(b) The attorney general may not use more than 15 percent of
118	118	the annual legislative appropriation to the attorney general under
119	119	Section 420.008(c)(1) [service] for the administration of this
120	120	chapter.
121	121	SECTION 8. Section 420.009, Government Code, is amended to
122	122	read as follows:
123	123	Sec. 420.009. REPORT. Not later than December 10 of each
124	124	even-numbered year, the [The] attorney general shall publish a
125	125	report regarding grants awarded under this chapter [on the service
126	126	not later than December 10 of each even-numbered year]. The report
127	127	must [summarize reports from programs receiving grants from the
128	128	attorney general,] analyze the effectiveness of the grants[,] and
129	129	include information on the expenditure of funds authorized by this
130	130	chapter, the services provided, the number of persons receiving
131	131	services, and any other information relating to the provision of
132	132	sexual assault services. A copy of the report shall be submitted to
133	133	the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the house of
134	134	representatives, Legislative Budget Board, Senate Committee on
135	135	Health and Human Services or its successor committee, and House
136	136	Committee on Human Services or its successor committee.
137	137	SECTION 9. Section 420.010, Government Code, is amended to
138	138	read as follows:
139	139	Sec. 420.010. CONFIDENTIALITY. The attorney general may
140	140	not disclose any information received from reports, collected case
141	141	information, or site-monitoring visits that would identify a person
142	142	working at or receiving services from a sexual assault program.
143	143	SECTION 10. The heading to Section 420.011, Government
144	144	Code, is amended to read as follows:
145	145	Sec. 420.011. CERTIFICATION BY ATTORNEY GENERAL; [AND]
146	146	RULES.
147	147	SECTION 11. Section 420.011(a), Government Code, is amended
148	148	to read as follows:
149	149	(a) The attorney general may adopt rules necessary to
150	150	implement this chapter. A proposed rule must be provided to grant
151	151	recipients [programs receiving grants] at least 60 days before the
152	152	date of adoption.
153	153	SECTION 12. Section 420.013(a), Government Code, is amended
154	154	to read as follows:
155	155	(a) The comptroller shall deposit any money received under
156	156	this subchapter and any money credited to the Sexual Assault
157	157	Prevention and Crisis Services Program [program] by another law in
158	158	the sexual assault prevention and crisis services fund.
159	159	SECTION 13. Sections 420.031(a), (b), and (c), Government
160	160	Code, are amended to read as follows:
161	161	(a) The attorney general [service] shall develop and
162	162	distribute to law enforcement agencies and proper medical personnel
163	163	an evidence collection protocol that shall include collection
164	164	procedures and a list of requirements for the contents of an
165	165	evidence collection kit for use in the collection and preservation
166	166	of evidence of a sexual assault or other sex offense. Medical or
167	167	law enforcement personnel collecting evidence of a sexual assault
168	168	or other sex offense shall use an attorney general-approved [a
169	169	service-approved] evidence collection kit and protocol.
170	170	(b) An evidence collection kit must contain [the following
171	171	items:
172	172	[(1)] items to collect and preserve evidence of a
173	173	sexual assault or other sex offense[;] and
174	174	[(2)] other items [recommended by the Evidence
175	175	Collection Protocol Advisory Committee of the attorney general and]
176	176	determined necessary for the kit by the attorney general.
177	177	(c) In developing the evidence collection kit and protocol
178	178	[procedures and requirements], the attorney general [service]
179	179	shall consult with individuals and organizations having knowledge
180	180	and experience in the issues of sexual assault and other sex
181	181	offenses.
182	182	SECTION 14. Section 420.051, Government Code, is amended to
183	183	read as follows:
184	184	Sec. 420.051. ADVOCATES FOR SURVIVORS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT.
185	185	An individual may act as an advocate for survivors of sexual assault
186	186	for the purposes of Article 56.045, Code of Criminal Procedure, if
187	187	the individual has completed a sexual assault training program
188	188	certified by the attorney general [department] and is an employee
189	189	or volunteer of a sexual assault program[:
190	190	[(1) is employed by a sexual assault program; or
191	191	[(2) provides services through a sexual assault
192	192	program as a volunteer under the supervision of an advocate].
193	193	SECTION 15. Section 420.073(b), Government Code, is amended
194	194	to read as follows:
195	195	(b) A survivor or other person authorized to consent may
196	196	withdraw consent to the release of information by submitting a
197	197	written notice of withdrawal to the person or sexual assault
198	198	program to which consent was provided. Withdrawal of consent does
199	199	not affect information disclosed before the date written notice of
200	200	the withdrawal was received.
201	201	SECTION 16. Section 420.0735(e), Government Code, is
202	202	amended to read as follows:
203	203	(e) A survivor or other person authorized to consent may
204	204	withdraw consent to the release of evidence by submitting a written
205	205	notice of withdrawal to the person or sexual assault program to
206	206	which consent was provided. Withdrawal of consent does not affect
207	207	evidence disclosed before the date written notice of the withdrawal
208	208	was received.
209	209	SECTION 17. Sections 420.003(2) and (3) and Sections
210	210	420.005(c) and (f), Government Code, are repealed.
211	211	SECTION 18. The changes in law made by this Act to Articles
212	212	56.39 and 56.61, Code of Criminal Procedure, apply only to
213	213	criminally injurious conduct committed against a victim whose
214	214	identity is established by a law enforcement agency on or after
215	215	January 1, 2009. Criminally injurious conduct committed against a
216	216	victim whose identity is established by a law enforcement agency
217	217	before January 1, 2009, is governed by the law in effect on the date
218	218	the victim's identity was established, and the former law is
219	219	continued in effect for that purpose.
220	220	SECTION 19. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.