Florida Senate - 2016                                     SB 636
       
       
        
       By Senator Benacquisto
       
       
       
       
       
       30-00495-16                                            2016636__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to evidence collected in sexual
    3         assault investigations; creating s. 943.326, F.S.;
    4         requiring that DNA evidence collected in sexual
    5         assault investigations be submitted to a member of the
    6         statewide criminal analysis laboratory system within a
    7         specified period; providing for a request by an
    8         alleged victim or specified representative for earlier
    9         submission; requiring that an alleged victim be
   10         informed of the right to demand earlier submission;
   11         requiring rulemaking and providing requirements for
   12         rules; requiring the Department of Law Enforcement to
   13         submit a report by a specified date to the Governor
   14         and the Legislature on how it will analyze the
   15         unanalyzed forensic evidence in sexual assault cases
   16         currently held in the statewide criminal analysis
   17         laboratory system; providing an effective date.
   18          
   19  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   20  
   21         Section 1. Section 943.326, Florida Statutes, is created to
   22  read:
   23         943.326 DNA evidence collected in sexual assault
   24  investigations.—
   25         (1) Any DNA evidence collected in a sexual assault
   26  investigation must be submitted to a member of the statewide
   27  criminal analysis laboratory system for forensic testing within
   28  21 days after the forensic evidence is received by a law
   29  enforcement agency or, if made earlier, a request to have the
   30  evidence tested is made by:
   31         (a) The alleged victim;
   32         (b) The alleged victim’s parent or guardian, if the alleged
   33  victim is a minor; or
   34         (c) The alleged victim’s personal representative, if the
   35  alleged victim is deceased.
   36         (2) An alleged victim must be informed of the purpose of
   37  the submission of the medical forensic evidence and the right to
   38  demand testing as provided in subsection (1).
   39         (3) The department shall adopt rules for forensic medical
   40  evidence collected in connection with an alleged sexual assault.
   41  The rules must include the requirements of this section and
   42  standards for what evidence must be submitted to a member of the
   43  statewide criminal analysis laboratory system and timeframes for
   44  when the evidence must be submitted, analyzed, and compared to
   45  DNA databases.
   46         Section 2. By October 1, 2016, the Department of Law
   47  Enforcement must submit a report to the Governor, the President
   48  of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives
   49  setting out the plan the department will follow to analyze the
   50  unanalyzed sexual assault forensic evidence currently held in
   51  the statewide criminal analysis laboratory system by June 30,
   52  2017.
   53         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2016.