Relates to reports on untested sexual offense evidence collection kits; requires law enforcement agencies to report to the division of criminal justice services on the number of tested and untested sexual offense evidence collection kits; requires the division to report on the results of such report to the legislature.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3557
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 1, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sens. SANDERS, KRUEGER -- read twice and ordered printed,
and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to reports on untested
sexual offense evidence collection kits
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 837-w of the executive law, as added by chapter 219
2 of the laws of 2022, is renumbered section 837-x and a new section 837-y
3 is added to read as follows:
4 § 837-y. Untested sexual offense evidence collection kit reports. 1.
5 As used in this section, the following terms shall have the following
6 meanings:
7 (a) "Forensic medical examination" shall mean an examination provided
8 to the victim of a sexual offense by a health care provider for the
9 purpose of gathering and preserving evidence of a sexual offense for use
10 in a court of law;
11 (b) "Sexual offense evidence collection kit" shall mean a human
12 biological specimen or specimens collected by a health care provider
13 during a forensic medical examination from the victim of a sexual
14 offense; and
15 (c) "Untested sexual offense evidence collection kit" shall mean a
16 sexual offense evidence collection kit that has not been submitted to
17 the New York state police laboratory or a similar qualified laboratory
18 for either a serology or deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) test.
19 2. By July first, two thousand twenty-three, and every first of July
20 thereafter, all law enforcement agencies responsible for the taking and
21 processing of sexual offense evidence collection kits shall conduct an
22 inventory of all such kits being stored by the agency and report all of
23 the following to the division:
24 (a) the number of sexual offense evidence collection kits the law
25 enforcement agency collects;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00422-01-3
S. 3557 2
1 (b) the number of sexual offense evidence collection kits that are
2 tested; and
3 (c) the number of untested sexual offense evidence collection kits and
4 the reason such kits remain untested.
5 3. By the first of January, two thousand twenty-four, and every first
6 of January thereafter, the division shall prepare and transmit a report
7 to the appropriate policy committees of the legislature summarizing the
8 information the division receives pursuant to subdivision two of this
9 section.
10 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
