Enrolled Bill Summary

Senate Bill 295	Senate Author:  Perry et al.
Effective:  9-1-21	House Sponsor:  Minjarez

            Senate Bill 295 amends the Sexual Assault Prevention and Crisis Services Act, Government Code, to revise provisions relating to the confidentiality and disclosure of communications and records concerning survivors of sexual assault or other sex offenses. Among other provisions, the bill establishes the following:

·        any communication, including an oral or written communication, between an advocate and a survivor that is made in the course of advising, counseling, or assisting the survivor is confidential;

·        any record created by, provided to, or maintained by an advocate is confidential if the record relates to the services provided to a survivor or contains certain information about the survivor or the survivor's victimization; and

·        a survivor has a privilege to refuse to disclose, and to prevent another from disclosing, a confidential communication or record in any civil, criminal, administrative, or legislative proceeding.

The bill revises the circumstances under which communications and records that are otherwise confidential under the act may be disclosed, including in criminal proceedings.