Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3455 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R12144 JSC-D
2	2	By: González H.B. No. 3455
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the rights of victims of sexual assault.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Article 56.021(a), Code of Criminal Procedure,
10	10	is amended to read as follows:
11	11	(a) In addition to the rights enumerated in Article 56.02,
12	12	if the offense is a sexual assault, the victim, guardian of a
13	13	victim, or close relative of a deceased victim is entitled to the
14	14	following rights within the criminal justice system:
15	15	(1) if requested, the right to a disclosure of
16	16	information regarding any evidence that was collected during the
17	17	investigation of the offense, unless disclosing the information
18	18	would interfere with the investigation or prosecution of the
19	19	offense, in which event the victim, guardian, or relative shall be
20	20	informed of the estimated date on which that information is
21	21	expected to be disclosed;
22	22	(2) if requested, the right to a disclosure of
23	23	information regarding the status of any analysis being performed of
24	24	any evidence that was collected during the investigation of the
25	25	offense;
26	26	(3) if requested, the right to be notified:
27	27	(A) at the time a request is submitted to a crime
28	28	laboratory to process and analyze any evidence that was collected
29	29	during the investigation of the offense;
30	30	(B) at the time of the submission of a request to
31	31	compare any biological evidence collected during the investigation
32	32	of the offense with DNA profiles maintained in a state or federal
33	33	DNA database; and
34	34	(C) of the results of the comparison described by
35	35	Paragraph (B), unless disclosing the results would interfere with
36	36	the investigation or prosecution of the offense, in which event the
37	37	victim, guardian, or relative shall be informed of the estimated
38	38	date on which those results are expected to be disclosed;
39	39	(4) if requested, the right to counseling regarding
40	40	acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and human
41	41	immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection;
42	42	(5) for the victim of the offense:
43	43	(A) [,] testing for acquired immune deficiency
44	44	syndrome (AIDS), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection,
45	45	antibodies to HIV, or infection with any other probable causative
46	46	agent of AIDS; and
47	47	(B) accurate and thorough information about
48	48	reproductive options and any appropriate referral to a health care
49	49	provider or facility;
50	50	(6) [to the extent provided by Articles 56.06 and
51	51	56.065,] for the victim of the offense, the right to a forensic
52	52	medical examination [if,] within 120 [96] hours of the offense[,
53	53	the offense is reported to a law enforcement agency or a forensic
54	54	medical examination is otherwise conducted] at a health care
55	55	facility in the victim's community;
56	56	(7) for a victim 18 years of age or older, the right to
57	57	determine whether and when to report an assault to law enforcement;
58	58	(8) the right to provide information and input to law
59	59	enforcement and prosecutors before decisions are made regarding the
60	60	case;
61	61	(9) in the event that an investigation is closed
62	62	without charges being filed or a charge is dismissed, the right to
63	63	receive thorough and accurate information about any other legal
64	64	options to assist and protect the victim and the victim's family;
65	65	(10) the right to be informed about the address
66	66	confidentiality program under Subchapter C, the confidentiality of
67	67	victim records under Chapter 57, and any other programs available
68	68	to protect the victim's personal information;
69	69	(11) the right to an interpreter in a nonjudicial
70	70	setting related to the case, including for languages other than
71	71	English and Spanish; and
72	72	(12) the right to a grievance process to investigate
73	73	and remedy any violation of this article.
74	74	SECTION 2. Chapter 56, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
75	75	amended by adding Article 56.022 to read as follows:
76	76	Art. 56.022. POLICY REGARDING VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT.
77	77	It is the policy of this state that a victim of sexual assault be
78	78	afforded the following rights:
79	79	(1) the right to protection from discrimination in
80	80	housing or employment on the basis of the assault;
81	81	(2) the right to report or have reported a sexual
82	82	assault without being punished by an institution of higher
83	83	education;
84	84	(3) the right to access all information regarding the
85	85	offense, including records not normally subject to public
86	86	disclosure;
87	87	(4) the right to have the sexual assault investigated
88	88	by law enforcement officers competent in trauma-informed
89	89	investigation techniques;
90	90	(5) the right to be assisted or accompanied by a sexual
91	91	assault program advocate during any stage of evidence collection,
92	92	law enforcement interaction, court proceedings, or any other
93	93	institutional process; and
94	94	(6) the right to exercise any rights of victims of
95	95	sexual assault regardless of the victim's actual or perceived race,
96	96	sex, disability, nationality, language, sexual orientation, gender
97	97	identity or expression, occupation, immigration status, amount or
98	98	source of income, or criminal record.
99	99	SECTION 3. Articles 56.06(a) and (b), Code of Criminal
100	100	Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
101	101	(a) If a sexual assault is reported to a law enforcement
102	102	agency within 120 [96] hours of the assault, the law enforcement
103	103	agency, with the consent of the victim, a person authorized to act
104	104	on behalf of the victim, or an employee of the Department of Family
105	105	and Protective Services, shall request a medical examination of the
106	106	victim of the alleged assault for use in the investigation or
107	107	prosecution of the offense. [A law enforcement agency may decline
108	108	to request a medical examination under this subsection only if the
109	109	person reporting the sexual assault has made one or more false
110	110	reports of sexual assault to any law enforcement agency and if there
111	111	is no other evidence to corroborate the current allegations of
112	112	sexual assault.]
113	113	(b) If a sexual assault is not reported within the period
114	114	described by Subsection (a), on request of the victim and on
115	115	receiving the consent described by that subsection the law
116	116	enforcement agency shall [may] request a medical examination of a
117	117	victim of an alleged sexual assault [as considered appropriate by
118	118	the agency].
119	119	SECTION 4. Article 56.065, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
120	120	amended by amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (d-1) to
121	121	read as follows:
122	122	(d) The department shall pay the appropriate fees, as set by
123	123	attorney general rule, for the forensic portion of the medical
124	124	examination and for the evidence collection kit if a physician,
125	125	sexual assault examiner, or sexual assault nurse examiner conducts
126	126	the forensic portion of the examination within 120 [96] hours after
127	127	the alleged sexual assault occurred and the victim chooses to
128	128	report the criminally injurious conduct at that time. The attorney
129	129	general shall reimburse the department for fees paid under this
130	130	subsection.
131	131	(d-1) If a physician, sexual assault examiner, or sexual
132	132	assault nurse examiner conducts an examination later than 120 hours
133	133	after the alleged sexual assault occurred or if the victim chooses
134	134	not to report the criminally injurious conduct, the victim may
135	135	apply for reimbursement of costs in the manner prescribed by
136	136	Subchapter B.
137	137	SECTION 5. Article 56.46, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
138	138	amended by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
139	139	(d) Subsection (a) does not apply to reimbursement for a
140	140	forensic medical examination performed in accordance with
141	141	Subchapter B, Chapter 420, Government Code, or for any other
142	142	medical care described by Section 323.004, Health and Safety Code,
143	143	if the examination or care was provided to the victim of an offense
144	144	under Section 21.02, 21.11, 22.011, or 22.021, Penal Code.
145	145	SECTION 6. The change in law made by this Act applies only
146	146	to victims of criminally injurious conduct occurring on or after
147	147	the effective date of this Act. Criminally injurious conduct
148	148	occurring before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
149	149	law in effect on the date the conduct occurred, and the former law
150	150	is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this
151	151	section, criminally injurious conduct occurred before the
152	152	effective date of this Act if any element of the offense underlying
153	153	the conduct occurred before that date.
154	154	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.