Rep. Maura Hirschauer

Filed: 3/22/2021

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 1739

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 1739 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The Sexual Assault Evidence Submission Act is
5amended by changing Section 50 as follows:
 
6    (725 ILCS 202/50)
7    Sec. 50. Sexual assault evidence tracking system.
8    (a) On June 26, 2018, the Sexual Assault Evidence Tracking
9and Reporting Commission issued its report as required under
10Section 43. It is the intention of the General Assembly in
11enacting the provisions of this amendatory Act of the 101st
12General Assembly to implement the recommendations of the
13Sexual Assault Evidence Tracking and Reporting Commission set
14forth in that report in a manner that utilizes the current
15resources of law enforcement agencies whenever possible and
16that is adaptable to changing technologies and circumstances.

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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1assault evidence no later than one year after the effective
2date of this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly. The
3Department may adopt additional rules as it deems necessary to
4ensure that the sexual assault evidence tracking system
5continues to be a useful tool for law enforcement.
6    (c) A treatment hospital, a treatment hospital with
7approved pediatric transfer, an out-of-state hospital approved
8by the Department of Public Health to receive transfers of
9Illinois sexual assault survivors, or an approved pediatric
10health care facility defined in Section 1a of the Sexual
11Assault Survivors Emergency Treatment Act shall participate in
12the sexual assault evidence tracking system created under this
13Section and in accordance with rules adopted under subsection
14(b), including, but not limited to, the collection of sexual
15assault evidence and providing information regarding that
16evidence, including, but not limited to, providing notice to
17law enforcement that the evidence has been collected.
18    (d) The operations of the sexual assault evidence tracking
19system shall be funded by moneys appropriated for that purpose
20from the State Crime Laboratory Fund and funds provided to the
21Department through asset forfeiture, together with such other
22funds as the General Assembly may appropriate.
23    (e) To ensure that the sexual assault evidence tracking
24system is operational, the Department may adopt emergency
25rules to implement the provisions of this Section under
26subsection (ff) of Section 5-45 of the Illinois Administrative

 

 

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1Procedure Act.
2    (f) Information, including, but not limited to, evidence
3and records in the sexual assault evidence tracking system is
4exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.
5(Source: P.A. 101-377, eff. 8-16-19.)
 
6    Section 10. The Sexual Assault Incident Procedure Act is
7amended by changing Sections 25 and 35 and by adding Section 11
8as follows:
 
9    (725 ILCS 203/11 new)
10    Sec. 11. Victim Notification. Using the contact
11information provided, a health care provider or local law
12enforcement agency must take reasonable steps to notify
13victims about the tracking system after an Illinois Sexual
14Assault Evidence Collection Kit has been collected.
 
15    (725 ILCS 203/25)
16    Sec. 25. Report; victim notice.
17    (a) At the time of first contact with the victim, law
18enforcement shall:
19        (1) Advise the victim about the following by providing
20    a form, the contents of which shall be prepared by the
21    Office of the Attorney General and posted on its website,
22    written in a language appropriate for the victim or in
23    Braille, or communicating in appropriate sign language

 

 

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1    that includes, but is not limited to:
2            (A) information about seeking medical attention
3        and preserving evidence, including specifically,
4        collection of evidence during a medical forensic
5        examination at a hospital and photographs of injury
6        and clothing;
7            (B) notice that the victim will not be charged for
8        hospital emergency and medical forensic services;
9            (C) information advising the victim that evidence
10        can be collected at the hospital up to 7 days after the
11        sexual assault or sexual abuse but that the longer the
12        victim waits the likelihood of obtaining evidence
13        decreases;
14            (C-5) notice that the sexual assault forensic
15        evidence collected will not be used to prosecute the
16        victim for any offense related to the use of alcohol,
17        cannabis, or a controlled substance;
18            (D) the location of nearby hospitals that provide
19        emergency medical and forensic services and, if known,
20        whether the hospitals employ any sexual assault nurse
21        examiners;
22            (E) a summary of the procedures and relief
23        available to victims of sexual assault or sexual abuse
24        under the Civil No Contact Order Act or the Illinois
25        Domestic Violence Act of 1986;
26            (F) the law enforcement officer's name and badge

 

 

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1        number;
2            (G) at least one referral to an accessible service
3        agency and information advising the victim that rape
4        crisis centers can assist with obtaining civil no
5        contact orders and orders of protection; and
6            (H) if the sexual assault or sexual abuse occurred
7        in another jurisdiction, provide in writing the
8        address and phone number of a specific contact at the
9        law enforcement agency having jurisdiction.
10        (2) Offer to provide or arrange accessible
11    transportation for the victim to a hospital for emergency
12    and forensic services, including contacting emergency
13    medical services.
14        (2.5) Notify victims about the Illinois State Police
15    sexual assault evidence tracking system and the Illinois
16    Sexual Assault Evidence Collection kit.
17        (3) Offer to provide or arrange accessible
18    transportation for the victim to the nearest available
19    circuit judge or associate judge so the victim may file a
20    petition for an emergency civil no contact order under the
21    Civil No Contact Order Act or an order of protection under
22    the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986 after the close
23    of court business hours, if a judge is available.
24    (b) At the time of the initial contact with a person making
25a third-party report under Section 22 of this Act, a law
26enforcement officer shall provide the written information

 

 

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1prescribed under paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of this
2Section to the person making the report and request the person
3provide the written information to the victim of the sexual
4assault or sexual abuse.
5    (c) If the first contact with the victim occurs at a
6hospital, a law enforcement officer may request the hospital
7provide interpretive services.
8(Source: P.A. 99-801, eff. 1-1-17; 100-1087, eff. 1-1-19.)
 
9    (725 ILCS 203/35)
10    Sec. 35. Release of information.
11    (a) Upon the request of the victim who has consented to the
12release of sexual assault evidence for testing, the law
13enforcement agency having jurisdiction shall notify the victim
14about the Illinois State Police sexual assault evidence
15tracking system and the Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kit
16and provide the following information in writing:
17        (1) the date the sexual assault evidence was sent to a
18    Department of State Police forensic laboratory or
19    designated laboratory;
20        (2) test results provided to the law enforcement
21    agency by a Department of State Police forensic laboratory
22    or designated laboratory, including, but not limited to:
23            (A) whether a DNA profile was obtained from the
24        testing of the sexual assault evidence from the
25        victim's case;

 

 

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1            (B) whether the DNA profile developed from the
2        sexual assault evidence has been searched against the
3        DNA Index System or any state or federal DNA database;
4            (C) whether an association was made to an
5        individual whose DNA profile is consistent with the
6        sexual assault evidence DNA profile, provided that
7        disclosure would not impede or compromise an ongoing
8        investigation; and
9            (D) whether any drugs were detected in a urine or
10        blood sample analyzed for drug facilitated sexual
11        assault and information about any drugs detected.
12    (b) The information listed in paragraph (1) of subsection
13(a) of this Section shall be provided to the victim within 7
14days of the transfer of the evidence to the laboratory. The
15information listed in paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of this
16Section shall be provided to the victim within 7 days of the
17receipt of the information by the law enforcement agency
18having jurisdiction.
19    (c) At the time the sexual assault evidence is released
20for testing, the victim shall be provided written information
21by the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction or the
22hospital providing emergency services and forensic services to
23the victim informing him or her of the right to request
24information under subsection (a) of this Section. A victim may
25designate another person or agency to receive this
26information.

 

 

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1    (d) The victim or the victim's designee shall keep the law
2enforcement agency having jurisdiction informed of the name,
3address, telephone number, and email address of the person to
4whom the information should be provided, and any changes of
5the name, address, telephone number, and email address, if an
6email address is available.
7(Source: P.A. 99-801, eff. 1-1-17.)".