89R1203 JDK-F
By: Johnson H.B. No. 3119
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the preservation of evidence collected from a forensic
medical examination for certain sexual assaults.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 56A.306(b), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(b) Subject to Subsection (c), an entity receiving evidence
collected during a forensic medical examination as described by
this subchapter shall preserve the evidence until the earlier of:
(1) the 20th [fifth] anniversary of the date on which
the evidence was collected or, if the victim was younger than 17
years of age at the time of the alleged sexual assault, when the
victim reaches the age of 40; or
(2) the date on which written consent to release the
evidence is obtained as provided by Section 420.0735, Government
Code.
SECTION 2. Section 323.0052(a), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The commission shall develop a standard information
form that, as described by Subsection (b), is to be provided to
sexual assault survivors who have not given signed, written consent
to a health care facility to release the evidence as provided by
Section 420.0735, Government Code. The form must include the
following information:
(1) the Department of Public Safety's policy regarding
storage of evidence of a sexual assault or other sex offense that is
collected under Subchapter G, Chapter 56A, Code of Criminal
Procedure, including:
(A) a statement that the evidence will be stored
until the 20th [fifth] anniversary of the date on which the evidence
was collected or, if the survivor was younger than 17 years of age
at the time of the alleged sexual assault or other sex offense,
until the survivor reaches the age of 40 before the evidence becomes
eligible for destruction; and
(B) the department's procedures regarding the
notification of the survivor through the statewide electronic
tracking system before a planned destruction of the evidence;
(2) a statement that the survivor may request the
release of the evidence to a law enforcement agency and report a
sexual assault or other sex offense to the agency at any time;
(3) the name, phone number, and e-mail address of the
law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the offense; and
(4) the name and phone number of a local sexual assault
crisis center.
SECTION 3. Article 56A.306(b), Code of Criminal Procedure,
as amended by this Act, applies only to sexual assault evidence
collected on or after the effective date of this Act. Evidence
collected before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
law in effect on the date the evidence was collected, and the former
law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. Not later than December 1, 2025, the Health and
Human Services Commission shall revise the information form
developed under Section 323.0052(a), Health and Safety Code, as
necessary to conform to the changes in law made by this Act to that
section.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.