87R4937 MEW-D
By: Shaheen H.B. No. 1426
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the forensic medical examination of a victim of sexual
assault who is a minor.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 56A.251, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsections
(c-1) and (c-2) and is further amended to conform to Section 3,
Chapter 1037 (H.B. 616), Acts of the 86th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2019, to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), if a sexual
assault of a person other than a minor is reported to a law
enforcement agency within 120 [96] hours after the assault, the law
enforcement agency, with the consent of the victim of the alleged
assault, a person authorized to act on behalf of the victim, or an
employee of the Department of Family and Protective Services, shall
request a forensic medical examination of the victim for use in the
investigation or prosecution of the offense.
(c) If a sexual assault of a person other than a minor is not
reported within the period described by Subsection (a), on
receiving the consent described by that subsection a law
enforcement agency may request a forensic medical examination of a
victim of an alleged sexual assault as considered appropriate by
the agency.
(c-1) In this article, "minor" has the meaning assigned by
Section 101.003, Family Code.
(c-2) If the sexual assault of a minor is reported at any
time after the assault, on receiving the consent of the minor's
parent or guardian, an employee of the Department of Family and
Protective Services, or other person with the power to consent to
the medical treatment of the minor, as applicable, a law
enforcement agency shall request a forensic medical examination of
the minor. A law enforcement agency may not decline to request a
forensic medical examination under this subsection.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to the report of a sexual assault that is made to a law enforcement
agency on or after the effective date of this Act. The report of a
sexual assault that is made to a law enforcement agency before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when the
report was made, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 3. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
over another Act of the 87th Legislature, Regular Session, 2021,
relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
codes.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.