Florida Senate - 2016 SB 1614 By Senator Sobel 33-00225C-16 20161614__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to forensic examination evidence; 3 amending s. 794.052, F.S.; requiring that forensic 4 examination evidence collected be submitted to the 5 Department of Law Enforcement within a specified 6 timeframe for entry into the statewide DNA database; 7 requiring the department to return such evidence to 8 the local or investigating law enforcement agency for 9 permanent retention; creating s. 938.086, F.S.; 10 providing a surcharge upon persons convicted of 11 certain sexual offenses; specifying that the proceeds 12 of the surcharge be used to process forensic medical 13 evidence submitted in investigations of alleged sexual 14 assaults; creating s. 943.326, F.S.; requiring law 15 enforcement agencies to adopt standards concerning 16 forensic evidence collected in investigations of 17 alleged sexual assaults; creating s. 943.3261, F.S.; 18 creating the Forensic Medical Evidence Kit Task Force; 19 requiring the task force to develop a plan to create a 20 system that provides comprehensive forensic medical 21 evidence kit tracking and inventory management; 22 prohibiting a victim’s personal identifying 23 information from being included in the system; 24 specifying elements that must be included in the plan; 25 requiring the task force to develop a plan to 26 safeguard information; requiring the task force to 27 make specified recommendations; providing an effective 28 date. 29 30 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 31 32 Section 1. Section 794.052, Florida Statutes, is amended to 33 read: 34 794.052 Sexual battery; notification of victim’s rights and 35 services.— 36 (1) A law enforcement officer who investigates an alleged 37 sexual battery shall: 38 (a) Assist the victim in obtaining medical treatment, if 39 medical treatment is necessary as a result of the alleged 40 incident, a forensic examination, and advocacy and crisis 41 intervention services from a certified rape crisis center and 42 provide or arrange for transportation to the appropriate 43 facility. 44 (b) Advise the victim that he or she may contact a 45 certified rape crisis center from which the victim may receive 46 services. 47 (c) BeforePrior tosubmitting a final report, permit the 48 victim to review the final report and provide a statement as to 49 the accuracy of the final report. 50 (2) The law enforcement officer shall give the victim 51 immediate notice of the legal rights and remedies available to a 52 victim on a standard form developed and distributed by the 53 Florida Council Against Sexual Violence in conjunction with the 54 Department of Law Enforcement. The notice must include the 55 resource listing, including telephone number, for the area 56 certified rape crisis center as designated by the Florida 57 Council Against Sexual Violence. 58 (3) Forensic examination evidence collected under 59 subsection (1) shall: 60 (a) Be submitted to the Department of Law Enforcement for 61 entry into the statewide DNA database pursuant to s. 943.325 62 within 30 days after the evidence is collected. 63 (b) Be returned by the Department of Law Enforcement to the 64 local or investigating law enforcement agency for permanent 65 retention. 66 Section 2. Section 938.086, Florida Statutes, is created to 67 read: 68 938.086 Additional court cost for processing of forensic 69 medical evidence in alleged sexual assault cases.—In addition to 70 any sanction imposed when a person pleads guilty or nolo 71 contendere to, or is found guilty of, regardless of 72 adjudication, a violation of s. 393.135(2); s. 394.4593(2); s. 73 787.01; s. 787.02; s. 787.025(2)(c); s. 787.06(3)(b), (d), (f), 74 or (g); s. 794.011, excluding s. 794.011(10); s. 794.05; s. 75 800.04; s. 810.145(8); s. 825.1025; s. 827.071; s. 847.0133; s. 76 847.0135, excluding s. 847.0135(6); s. 847.0137; s. 847.0138; s. 77 847.0145; s. 916.1075(2); s. 985.701(1); or any similar offense 78 committed in this state which has been redesignated from a 79 former statute number to one of those listed in this section, 80 the court shall impose a surcharge of $1,000. Payment of the 81 surcharge shall be a condition of probation, community control, 82 or any other court-ordered supervision. The surcharge shall be 83 deposited into the Operating Trust Fund of the Department of Law 84 Enforcement to be used by the statewide criminal analysis 85 laboratory system or a local law enforcement agency to process 86 forensic medical evidence submitted in investigations of alleged 87 sexual assaults. 88 Section 3. Section 943.326, Florida Statutes, is created to 89 read: 90 943.326 DNA evidence collected in sexual assault 91 investigations.—By January 1, 2017, each law enforcement agency 92 in the state shall adopt a policy concerning the handling and 93 submission for processing of forensic medical evidence collected 94 in connection with an alleged sexual assault. Such a policy must 95 include a requirement that the agency make every effort to 96 ensure that such evidence be processed and the results be 97 provided to the agency no later than 12 months after the date of 98 the alleged sexual assault. 99 Section 4. Section 943.3261, Florida Statutes, is created 100 to read: 101 943.3261 Forensic Medical Evidence Kit Task Force.—The 102 Forensic Medical Evidence Kit Task Force is created within the 103 department and shall: 104 (1) Develop a plan to establish a system that tracks and 105 manages forensic medical evidence kits, from the time they are 106 collected until they are disposed of, to further enhance 107 accountability, transparency, and information sharing among all 108 stakeholders in the processing of such kits. Such a system may 109 not include victims’ personal identifying information. At a 110 minimum, the plan must provide for: 111 (a) The development and implementation of a statewide, 112 integrated information management system to track the location, 113 lab submission status, testing, completion, and storage of 114 forensic medical evidence kits. 115 (b) The recording of logistical information regarding the 116 collection of forensic medical evidence kits at health care 117 facilities in a manner that ensures that kits that have been 118 reported to a law enforcement agency are differentiated from 119 those that have not been reported. 120 (c) Creation and maintenance of a log that identifies the 121 dates and times that forensic medical evidence kits are 122 submitted to the crime laboratory for analysis. 123 (d) Notification by a health care facility to a law 124 enforcement agency that a forensic medical evidence kit is ready 125 to be picked up from the facility. 126 (e) Electronic interface with current laboratory 127 information management systems in which processing results of 128 forensic medical evidence kits are recorded. 129 (f) Generation of statewide and jurisdiction-specific 130 reports on any existing backlog of forensic medical evidence 131 kits, the number of new kits collected and submitted for 132 testing, and the amount of time required for processing all 133 kits. 134 (g) Secure electronic access by the victim to information 135 on the current status of the forensic medical evidence kit 136 collected from him or her, including an option by which the 137 victim may elect to receive automatic updates if it is 138 determined by the law enforcement agency that the disclosure 139 will not impede or compromise an ongoing investigation. 140 (2) Develop a plan to safeguard the confidentiality of 141 information in the statewide forensic medical evidence kit 142 tracking system and to place limits on the disclosure of such 143 information. 144 (3) Recommend sources of public and private funding to 145 implement the system. 146 (4) Recommend changes to law or policy needed to support 147 implementation of the system. 148 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2016.