Florida Senate - 2021 CS for SB 1530
By the Committee on Criminal Justice; and Senator Book
591-03250-21 20211530c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to victims of sexual offenses;
3 amending s. 27.14, F.S.; authorizing a victim of
4 sexual battery or cyberstalking to petition the
5 Governor to disqualify a state attorney under certain
6 circumstances; creating s. 154.012, F.S.; requiring
7 county health departments to participate in local
8 sexual assault response teams coordinated by local
9 certified rape crisis centers if such a team exists;
10 authorizing the certified rape crisis center serving
11 the county to coordinate with community partners to
12 establish a local or regional team if a local sexual
13 assault response team does not exist; providing the
14 purpose of such teams; providing for duties,
15 membership, meetings, technical assistance, and an
16 annual report; requiring teams to promote and support
17 the use of sexual assault forensic examiners meeting
18 certain requirements; providing an effective date.
19
20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
21
22 Section 1. Present subsections (2) and (3) of section
23 27.14, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (3) and
24 (4), respectively, and a new subsection (2) is added to that
25 section, to read:
26 27.14 Assigning state attorneys to other circuits.—
27 (2) A victim of a sexual battery or cyberstalking may
28 petition the Governor to disqualify a state attorney pursuant to
29 subsection (1) if sufficient evidence is presented that shows a
30 willful disregard of the evidence and repeated failure of a
31 state attorney to prosecute a particular crime.
32 Section 2. Section 154.012, Florida Statutes, is created to
33 read:
34 154.012 Sexual assault response teams; membership; duties.—
35 (1) The health department in every county in this state, or
36 its designee, shall participate in the local sexual assault
37 response team coordinated by the certified rape crisis center
38 serving the county if such a team exists. If a local sexual
39 assault response team does not exist, the certified rape crisis
40 center serving the county may coordinate with community partners
41 to establish a local or a regional team. The purpose of the
42 sexual assault response team is to ensure a coordinated
43 multidisciplinary response to sexual violence.
44 (2) Each team shall develop a written protocol to govern
45 the team’s response to sexual assault which includes:
46 (a) The role and responsibilities of each team member.
47 (b) Procedural issues regarding the immediate crisis and
48 health care and law enforcement responses and followup services
49 provided to a victim.
50 (c) Procedures for the preservation, secure storage, and
51 destruction of evidence from a sexual assault evidence kit,
52 including length of storage, site of storage, and chain of
53 custody.
54 (d) Procedures for maintaining the confidentiality of the
55 victim regarding the forensic medical examination.
56 (3) Membership of each team shall be determined by the
57 certified rape crisis center in collaboration with community
58 partners. At a minimum, membership should include the following
59 persons or their designees:
60 (a) The director of the local certified rape crisis center;
61 (b) A representative from the county health department;
62 (c) The state attorney;
63 (d) The chief of police;
64 (e) The county sheriff;
65 (f) Forensic sexual assault nurse examiners; and
66 (g) A representative from local hospital emergency
67 departments.
68 (4) The Florida Council Against Sexual Violence shall
69 provide technical assistance relating to the development and
70 implementation of the teams.
71 (5) Each team shall promote and support the use of
72 qualified sexual assault forensic examiners who have
73 successfully completed a minimum of 40 hours of specialized
74 training in the provision of trauma-informed medical care and in
75 the collection of evidence for sexual assault victims.
76 (6) Each team shall meet at least quarterly, or more often
77 as determined by the team’s membership, to ensure a coordinated
78 multidisciplinary response to sexual violence and shall produce
79 an annual report for the jurisdictions covered by the team which
80 includes local statistics on the number of forensic medical
81 examinations performed, the number of criminal sexual assaults
82 reported to law enforcement, the number of cases referred by law
83 enforcement for prosecution, the number of criminal sexual
84 assaults prosecuted, and the outcome of the prosecutions. Each
85 annual report shall be submitted to the Florida Council Against
86 Sexual Violence, which must publish the annual reports on its
87 website.
88 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.