87R3510 SCL-F
By: Nelson S.B. No. 476
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to establishment of county sexual assault response teams.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 351, Local Government Code, is amended
by adding Subchapter J to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER J. COUNTY SEXUAL ASSAULT RESPONSE TEAMS
Sec. 351.251. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Program" means a program that:
(A) operates independently from a law
enforcement agency or prosecutor's office;
(B) is operated by a local public or private
nonprofit corporation either independently or as part of a
municipal, county, or state agency; and
(C) provides the minimum services, as defined by
Section 420.003, Government Code, to adult survivors of stranger
and non-stranger sexual assault.
(2) "Response team" means a multidisciplinary team
established under this subchapter to strengthen the collaborative
response and enhance health and judicial outcomes for sexual
assault survivors.
(3) "Survivor" means an individual who is a victim of a
sexual assault or other sex offense, regardless of whether a police
report is made for the incident.
Sec. 351.252. ESTABLISHMENT. (a) Except as provided by
Subsection (b), the commissioners court of each county shall
establish a sexual assault response team that includes the
following members appointed by the commissioners court:
(1) the chief administrator, or the chief
administrator's designee, of a program that provides services for
the county;
(2) a prosecutor with jurisdiction in the county over
sexual assault cases;
(3) the chief, or the chief's designee, of the
municipal police department with the largest population in the
county, provided a municipality in the county has a municipal
police department;
(4) the sheriff or the sheriff's designee;
(5) either:
(A) a sexual assault nurse examiner or forensic
examiner from a facility that conducts sexual assault forensic
exams for the county; or
(B) a representative from the largest health care
provider operating in the county if the county does not have a
professional described by Paragraph (A);
(6) a behavioral health services provider operating in
the county or, if the county does not have a behavioral health
services provider, a representative from the county health
department; and
(7) other persons the presiding officer of the
response team considers necessary for the operation of the response
team or as recommended by the response team.
(b) Two or more contiguous counties, each with a population
of 50,000 or less, may partner to form a multicounty response team.
Sec. 351.253. PRESIDING OFFICER. The response team shall
elect a presiding officer from among its members.
Sec. 351.254. MEETINGS. (a) A response team shall meet:
(1) at least quarterly at a time determined by the
presiding officer;
(2) not later than the 90th day after the last day of a
regular legislative session to review and amend as necessary any
protocols, forms, or guidelines developed under this subchapter;
and
(3) at any other time at the call of the presiding
officer.
(b) If a response team member is unable to participate in a
response team meeting, the member or entity the member is
representing may designate another individual to represent the
member or entity at the meeting. Each member or a designee of that
member must participate in all response team meetings.
(c) A response team member must attend the quarterly
meetings held as required under Subsection (a)(1) to participate in
response team functions.
(d) A response team shall meet independently of a county
multidisciplinary child abuse team.
Sec. 351.255. VACANCIES. The commissioners court of a
county shall fill a vacancy for a response team member not later
than the 30th day after the date the vacancy occurs and in the same
manner as the original appointment.
Sec. 351.256. SEXUAL ASSAULT RESPONSE PROTOCOL. (a) A
response team shall develop a written protocol addressing the
coordinated response for adult survivors in the county that
includes:
(1) the procedures to be used in investigating and
prosecuting cases arising from a report of sexual assault;
(2) interagency information sharing to ensure the
timely exchange of relevant information and enhance the response to
survivors;
(3) the location and accessibility of sexual assault
forensic examinations;
(4) information on the availability of and access to
medical care when the care is clinically indicated;
(5) a requirement to ensure survivors are offered
access to sexual assault program advocates, as defined by Section
420.003, Government Code;
(6) information on the availability of and access to
mental and behavioral health services;
(7) a requirement to ensure that relevant law
enforcement agencies notify survivors in a timely manner regarding
the status of any criminal case and court proceeding;
(8) an assessment of relevant community trends,
including drug-facilitated sexual assault, the incidence of
predatory date rape, and sex trafficking;
(9) a biannual evaluation through sexual assault case
reviews of the effectiveness of individual agency and interagency
protocols and systems;
(10) at least four hours of annual cross-agency
training on the dynamics of sexual assault for response team
members participating in the quarterly meetings as required by
Section 351.254(c); and
(11) procedures for addressing conflicts within the
response team and for maintaining the confidentiality of
information shared among response team members as required by law.
(b) In developing a protocol under this section, the
response team:
(1) shall consider Chapter 56A, Code of Criminal
Procedure;
(2) may provide different procedures for use within a
particular municipality or area of the county served by the
response team; and
(3) shall prioritize the health and safety of
survivors.
(c) The purpose of the protocol developed under this section
is to ensure coordination between all agencies involved in sexual
assault cases to increase the efficacy of response and to minimize
survivor traumatization. The response team shall provide the
protocol to each agency in the county that responds to disclosures
of sexual assault.
(d) Failure to follow a protocol developed under this
section does not:
(1) constitute the basis for a claim or defense to a
civil or criminal action; or
(2) preclude the admissibility of evidence.
Sec. 351.257. REPORT. Not later than December 1 of each
odd-numbered year, a response team shall provide to the
commissioners court of each county the response team serves a
report that includes:
(1) a list of response team members able to
participate in the quarterly meetings required by Section
351.254(c);
(2) an update on the implementation of the written
protocol developed under Section 351.256; and
(3) a biannual summary detailing:
(A) the number of sexual assault reports received
by local law enforcement agencies;
(B) the number of investigations conducted as a
result of those reports;
(C) the number of indictments presented in
connection with a report and the disposition of those cases; and
(D) the number of reports of sexual assault for
which no indictment was presented.
SECTION 2. (a) Not later than December 1, 2021, the
commissioners court of each county shall appoint the members to and
call the first meeting of a sexual assault response team in
accordance with Subchapter J, Chapter 351, Local Government Code,
as added by this Act. At the first meeting of each sexual assault
response team, the members of the team shall appoint the initial
presiding officer.
(b) Not later than December 1, 2022, each sexual assault
response team shall develop a written protocol as required by
Section 351.256, Local Government Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.