102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB1739

 

Introduced 2/17/2021, by Rep. Maura Hirschauer - Deb Conroy

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
210 ILCS 85/6.02 new
725 ILCS 202/50

    Amends the Sexual Assault Evidence Submission Act. Provides that health care providers or local law enforcement must notify victims about the tracking system after an Illinois Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kit has been analyzed. Amends the Hospital Licensing Act. Provides that a hospital licensed under this Act must comply with the requirements concerning the sexual assault evidence tracking system under the Sexual Assault Evidence Submission Act.


LRB102 11380 KMF 16713 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB1739LRB102 11380 KMF 16713 b

1    AN ACT concerning criminal law.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Hospital Licensing Act is amended by adding
5Section 6.02 as follows:
 
6    (210 ILCS 85/6.02 new)
7    Sec. 6.02. Sexual Assault Evidence Submission Act. A
8hospital licensed under this Act must comply with the
9requirements of subsection (c) of Section 50 of the Sexual
10Assault Evidence Submission Act.
 
11    Section 10. The Sexual Assault Evidence Submission Act is
12amended by changing Section 50 as follows:
 
13    (725 ILCS 202/50)
14    Sec. 50. Sexual assault evidence tracking system.
15    (a) On June 26, 2018, the Sexual Assault Evidence Tracking
16and Reporting Commission issued its report as required under
17Section 43. It is the intention of the General Assembly in
18enacting the provisions of this amendatory Act of the 101st
19General Assembly to implement the recommendations of the
20Sexual Assault Evidence Tracking and Reporting Commission set
21forth in that report in a manner that utilizes the current

 

 

HB1739- 2 -LRB102 11380 KMF 16713 b

1resources of law enforcement agencies whenever possible and
2that is adaptable to changing technologies and circumstances.
3    (a-1) Due to the complex nature of a statewide tracking
4system for sexual assault evidence and to ensure all
5stakeholders, including, but not limited to, victims and their
6designees, health care facilities, law enforcement agencies,
7forensic labs, and State's Attorneys offices are integrated,
8the Commission recommended the purchase of an electronic
9off-the-shelf tracking system. The system must be able to
10communicate with all stakeholders and provide real-time
11information to a victim or his or her designee on the status of
12the evidence that was collected. The sexual assault evidence
13tracking system must:
14        (1) be electronic and web-based;
15        (2) be administered by the Department of State Police;
16        (3) have help desk availability at all times;
17        (4) ensure the law enforcement agency contact
18    information is accessible to the victim or his or her
19    designee through the tracking system, so there is contact
20    information for questions;
21        (5) have the option for external connectivity to
22    evidence management systems, laboratory information
23    management systems, or other electronic data systems
24    already in existence by any of the stakeholders to
25    minimize additional burdens or tasks on stakeholders;
26        (6) allow for the victim to opt in for automatic

 

 

HB1739- 3 -LRB102 11380 KMF 16713 b

1    notifications when status updates are entered in the
2    system, if the system allows;
3        (7) include at each step in the process, a brief
4    explanation of the general purpose of that step and a
5    general indication of how long the step may take to
6    complete;
7        (8) contain minimum fields for tracking and reporting,
8    as follows:
9            (A) for sexual assault evidence kit vendor fields:
10                (i) each sexual evidence kit identification
11            number provided to each health care facility; and
12                (ii) the date the sexual evidence kit was sent
13            to the health care facility.
14            (B) for health care facility fields:
15                (i) the date sexual assault evidence was
16            collected; and
17                (ii) the date notification was made to the law
18            enforcement agency that the sexual assault
19            evidence was collected.
20            (C) for law enforcement agency fields:
21                (i) the date the law enforcement agency took
22            possession of the sexual assault evidence from the
23            health care facility, another law enforcement
24            agency, or victim if he or she did not go through a
25            health care facility;
26                (ii) the law enforcement agency complaint

 

 

HB1739- 4 -LRB102 11380 KMF 16713 b

1            number;
2                (iii) if the law enforcement agency that takes
3            possession of the sexual assault evidence from a
4            health care facility is not the law enforcement
5            agency with jurisdiction in which the offense
6            occurred, the date when the law enforcement agency
7            notified the law enforcement agency having
8            jurisdiction that the agency has sexual assault
9            evidence required under subsection (c) of Section
10            20 of the Sexual Assault Incident Procedure Act;
11                (iv) an indication if the victim consented for
12            analysis of the sexual assault evidence;
13                (v) if the victim did not consent for analysis
14            of the sexual assault evidence, the date on which
15            the law enforcement agency is no longer required
16            to store the sexual assault evidence;
17                (vi) a mechanism for the law enforcement
18            agency to document why the sexual assault evidence
19            was not submitted to the laboratory for analysis,
20            if applicable;
21                (vii) the date the law enforcement agency
22            received the sexual assault evidence results back
23            from the laboratory;
24                (viii) the date statutory notifications were
25            made to the victim or documentation of why
26            notification was not made; and

 

 

HB1739- 5 -LRB102 11380 KMF 16713 b

1                (ix) the date the law enforcement agency
2            turned over the case information to the State's
3            Attorney office, if applicable.
4            (D) for forensic lab fields:
5                (i) the date the sexual assault evidence is
6            received from the law enforcement agency by the
7            forensic lab for analysis;
8                (ii) the laboratory case number, visible to
9            the law enforcement agency and State's Attorney
10            office; and
11                (iii) the date the laboratory completes the
12            analysis of the sexual assault evidence.
13            (E) for State's Attorney office fields:
14                (i) the date the State's Attorney office
15            received the sexual assault evidence results from
16            the laboratory, if applicable; and
17                (ii) the disposition or status of the case.
18    (a-2) The Commission also developed guidelines for secure
19electronic access to a tracking system for a victim, or his or
20her designee to access information on the status of the
21evidence collected. The Commission recommended minimum
22guidelines in order to safeguard confidentiality of the
23information contained within this statewide tracking system.
24These recommendations are that the sexual assault evidence
25tracking system must:
26        (1) allow for secure access, controlled by an

 

 

HB1739- 6 -LRB102 11380 KMF 16713 b

1    administering body who can restrict user access and allow
2    different permissions based on the need of that particular
3    user and health care facility users may include
4    out-of-state border hospitals, if authorized by the
5    Department of State Police to obtain this State's kits
6    from vendor;
7        (2) provide for users, other than victims, the ability
8    to provide for any individual who is granted access to the
9    program their own unique user ID and password;
10        (3) provide for a mechanism for a victim to enter the
11    system and only access his or her own information;
12        (4) enable a sexual assault evidence to be tracked and
13    identified through the unique sexual assault evidence kit
14    identification number or barcode that the vendor applies
15    to each sexual assault evidence kit per the Department of
16    State Police's contract;
17        (5) have a mechanism to inventory unused kits provided
18    to a health care facility from the vendor;
19        (6) provide users the option to either scan the bar
20    code or manually enter the sexual assault evidence kit
21    number into the tracking program;
22        (7) provide a mechanism to create a separate unique
23    identification number for cases in which a sexual evidence
24    kit was not collected, but other evidence was collected;
25        (8) provide the ability to record date, time, and user
26    ID whenever any user accesses the system;

 

 

HB1739- 7 -LRB102 11380 KMF 16713 b

1        (9) provide for real-time entry and update of data;
2        (10) contain report functions including:
3            (A) health care facility compliance with
4        applicable laws;
5            (B) law enforcement agency compliance with
6        applicable laws;
7            (C) law enforcement agency annual inventory of
8        cases to each State's Attorney office; and
9            (D) forensic lab compliance with applicable laws;
10        and
11        (11) provide automatic notifications to the law
12    enforcement agency when:
13            (A) a health care facility has collected sexual
14        assault evidence;
15            (B) unreleased sexual assault evidence that is
16        being stored by the law enforcement agency has met the
17        minimum storage requirement by law; and
18            (C) timelines as required by law are not met for a
19        particular case, if not otherwise documented.
20    (b) The Department shall develop rules to implement a
21sexual assault evidence tracking system that conforms with
22subsections (a-1) and (a-2) of this Section. The Department
23shall design the criteria for the sexual assault evidence
24tracking system so that, to the extent reasonably possible,
25the system can use existing technologies and products,
26including, but not limited to, currently available tracking

 

 

HB1739- 8 -LRB102 11380 KMF 16713 b

1systems. The sexual assault evidence tracking system shall be
2operational and shall begin tracking and reporting sexual
3assault evidence no later than one year after the effective
4date of this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly. The
5Department may adopt additional rules as it deems necessary to
6ensure that the sexual assault evidence tracking system
7continues to be a useful tool for law enforcement.
8    (c) A treatment hospital, a treatment hospital with
9approved pediatric transfer, an out-of-state hospital approved
10by the Department of Public Health to receive transfers of
11Illinois sexual assault survivors, or an approved pediatric
12health care facility defined in Section 1a of the Sexual
13Assault Survivors Emergency Treatment Act shall participate in
14the sexual assault evidence tracking system created under this
15Section and in accordance with rules adopted under subsection
16(b), including, but not limited to, the collection of sexual
17assault evidence and providing information regarding that
18evidence, including, but not limited to, providing notice to
19law enforcement that the evidence has been collected.
20    (c-1) Health care providers or local law enforcement must
21notify victims about the tracking system after an Illinois
22Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kit has been analyzed.
23    (d) The operations of the sexual assault evidence tracking
24system shall be funded by moneys appropriated for that purpose
25from the State Crime Laboratory Fund and funds provided to the
26Department through asset forfeiture, together with such other

 

 

HB1739- 9 -LRB102 11380 KMF 16713 b

1funds as the General Assembly may appropriate.
2    (e) To ensure that the sexual assault evidence tracking
3system is operational, the Department may adopt emergency
4rules to implement the provisions of this Section under
5subsection (ff) of Section 5-45 of the Illinois Administrative
6Procedure Act.
7    (f) Information, including, but not limited to, evidence
8and records in the sexual assault evidence tracking system is
9exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.
10(Source: P.A. 101-377, eff. 8-16-19.)