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Senate Bill 1680 |
Senate Author: Ellis |
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Effective: 9-1-11 |
House Sponsor: Murphy |
Senate Bill 1680 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to specify that the attorney representing the state in trials involving an allegation of a continuing scheme of fraud or theft that involves Medicaid or Medicare benefits committed with respect to a large class of Medicaid or Medicare recipients in an aggregate amount or value is not required to prove by direct evidence that each recipient did not consent or effectively consent to a transaction in question. The bill authorizes a court to order the attorney representing the state to take the deposition of a Medicare or Medicaid recipient or caregiver who is the alleged victim of or witness to an offense constituting fraud or theft that involves Medicaid or Medicare benefits and authorizes the deposition to be taken by video recording. The bill establishes provisions relating to offering a recorded deposition into evidence and extending the deadline for taking a recipient's or caregiver's deposition and also provides for the rules governing the taking of the deposition. The bill provides for the taking of the deposition of a defendant unable to attend the deposition due to confinement in a correctional facility or any other reason.