Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E. Line and page numbers may not match official copy. By: Moncrief S.B. No. 919 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT 1-1 relating to transfer of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Crisis 1-2 Services program from the Texas Department of Health to the Office 1-3 of the Attorney General, and related provisions. 1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-5 SECTION 1. Title 4, Government Code, is amended by adding 1-6 chapter 420 to read as follows: 1-7 CHAPTER 420. SEXUAL ASSAULT PREVENTION AND CRISIS SERVICES 1-8 SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS 1-9 Sec. 420.001. SHORT TITLE. This chapter may be cited as the 1-10 Sexual Assault Prevention and Crisis Services Act. 1-11 Sec. 420.002. PURPOSE. The purpose of this chapter is to 1-12 promote the development throughout the state of locally based and 1-13 supported nonprofit programs for the survivors of sexual assault 1-14 and to standardize the quality of services provided. 1-15 Sec. 420.003. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: 1-16 (1) "Program" means a sexual assault program. 1-17 (2) "Service" means the Sexual Assault Prevention and 1-18 Crisis Service. 1-19 (3) "Sexual assault" means any act or attempted act as 1-20 described by Section 21.11, 22.011, 22.021, or 25.02, Penal Code. 1-21 (4) "Sexual Assault Examiner" means a person who uses 1-22 the evidence collection kit and protocol in the collection and 1-23 preservation of evidence of a sexual assault or other sex offense. 2-1 (5) "Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner" means a registered 2-2 nurse who has completed a service approved examiner course. 2-3 (6) "Sexual assault program" means any local public or 2-4 private nonprofit corporation, independent of a law enforcement 2-5 agency or prosecutor's office, that is operated as an independent 2-6 program or as part of a municipal, county, or state agency and that 2-7 provides the minimum services established by this chapter. 2-8 (7) "Survivor" means an individual who is a victim of 2-9 a sexual assault, regardless of whether a report or conviction is 2-10 made in the incident. 2-11 Sec. 420.004. SERVICE. (a) The Sexual Assault Prevention 2-12 and Crisis Service Division is in the office of the attorney 2-13 general. 2-14 (b) The attorney general may adopt rules relating to 2-15 assigning service areas, monitoring services, distributing funds, 2-16 and collecting information from programs in accordance with this 2-17 chapter. 2-18 Sec. 420.005. GRANTS. (a) The attorney general may award 2-19 grants to programs for maintaining or expanding existing services. 2-20 A grant may not result in the reduction of the financial support a 2-21 program receives from another source. 2-22 (b) To be eligible for a grant, a program must provide at a 2-23 minimum: 2-24 (1) a 24-hour crisis hotline; 2-25 (2) crisis counseling; 3-1 (3) public education; 3-2 (4) advocacy and accompaniment to hospitals, law 3-3 enforcement offices, prosecutor's offices, and courts for survivors 3-4 and their family members; 3-5 (5) professional training on sexual assault for law 3-6 enforcement, medical and mental health personnel, prosecutors, and 3-7 educators; 3-8 (6) crisis intervention volunteer training; and 3-9 (7) liaison with law enforcement and medical personnel 3-10 and prosecutors on behalf of survivors. 3-11 (c) The attorney general by rule shall require a program 3-12 receiving a grant to: 3-13 (1) submit quarterly and annual financial reports to 3-14 the attorney general; 3-15 (2) submit to an annual independent financial audit; 3-16 (3) cooperate with the department during 3-17 site-monitoring visits; and 3-18 (4) offer the minimum services described by Subsection 3-19 (b) for at least nine months before receiving a grant. 3-20 (d) This section does not prohibit a program from offering 3-21 any additional service, including a service for sexual assault 3-22 offenders. 3-23 (e) A grant is governed by the Uniform Grant and Contract 3-24 Management Act of 1981 (Chapter 783, Government Code) and rules 3-25 adopted under that Act. 4-1 (f) The receipt of grant money by a program may be suspended 4-2 in case of a dispute about the eligibility of the program to 4-3 receive the money under this chapter. A hearing on the dispute 4-4 must be held within a reasonable time, as established by rule. 4-5 Sec. 420.006. FUNDING. (a) The attorney general may 4-6 receive grants, gifts, or appropriations of money from the federal 4-7 government, the state legislature, or private sources to finance 4-8 the grant program created by this chapter. 4-9 (b) The attorney general may not use more than 15 percent of 4-10 the annual legislative appropriation to the service for the 4-11 administration of this chapter. 4-12 (c) The sexual assault prevention and crisis services fund 4-13 is in the state treasury. Moneys deposited to the credit of the 4-14 sexual assault prevention and crisis services fund may be used only 4-15 as provided by this subchapter and is not available for any other 4-16 purpose. 4-17 Sec. 420.0061. SEXUAL ASSAULT PROGRAM FUND. (a) The sexual 4-18 assault program fund is a special account in the general revenue 4-19 fund. 4-20 (b) The fund consists of fees collected under Section 19(e), 4-21 Article 42.12, and Section 8(p), Article 42.18, Code of Criminal 4-22 Procedure. 4-23 (c) The legislature may appropriate money deposited to the 4-24 credit of the fund only to the attorney general to finance the 4-25 grant program created by this chapter. 5-1 Sec. 420.007. REPORT. The attorney general shall publish a 5-2 report on the service within 100 days after September 1 each 5-3 even-numbered year. The report must summarize reports from 5-4 programs receiving grants from the attorney general, analyze the 5-5 effectiveness of the grants, and include information on the 5-6 expenditure of funds authorized by this chapter, the services 5-7 provided, the number of persons receiving services, and any other 5-8 information relating to the provision of sexual assault services. 5-9 A copy of the report shall be submitted to the governor, lieutenant 5-10 governor, speaker of the house of representatives, Legislative 5-11 Budget Board, Senate Committee on Health and Human Services or its 5-12 successor committee, and House Committee on Human Services or its 5-13 successor committee. 5-14 Sec. 420.008. CONFIDENTIALITY. The attorney general may not 5-15 disclose any information received from reports, collected case 5-16 information, or site-monitoring visits that would identify a person 5-17 working at or receiving services from a program. 5-18 Sec. 420.009. CERTIFICATION AND RULES. (a) The attorney 5-19 general may adopt rules necessary to implement this chapter. A 5-20 proposed rule must be provided to programs receiving grants at 5-21 least 60 days before the date of adoption. 5-22 (b) The attorney general shall adopt rules establishing 5-23 minimum standards for the certification of a sexual assault 5-24 program. The rules shall require a fee of $25 for each program 5-25 seeking certification. The certification shall be valid for two 6-1 years for the date of issuance. The attorney general shall develop 6-2 minimum standards for: 6-3 (1) standards for program certification; and 6-4 (2) conditions under which a program that is in 6-5 violation of this chapter or rules promulgated thereunder, may be 6-6 suspended, decertified, or placed on probation. 6-7 (c) The attorney general shall adopt rules establishing 6-8 minimum standards for the certification of a sexual assault nurse 6-9 examiner. A certificate is valid for two years from the date of 6-10 issuance. The attorney general shall develop minimum standards 6-11 for: 6-12 (1) examiner training courses; 6-13 (2) criteria for interstate reciprocity of sexual 6-14 assault nurse examiners; and 6-15 (3) conditions under which a sexual assault nurse 6-16 examiner who is in violation of this chapter or rules promulgated 6-17 thereunder, may be suspended, decertified, or placed on probation. 6-18 Sec. 420.010. CONSULTATIONS. In implementing this chapter, 6-19 the attorney general shall consult persons and organizations having 6-20 knowledge and experience relating to sexual assault. 6-21 Sec. 420.011. DEPOSIT BY COMPTROLLER; AUDIT. (a) The 6-22 comptroller shall deposit any moneys received under this subchapter 6-23 and all other moneys credited to the program by any other provision 6-24 of law in the sexual assault prevention and crisis services fund. 6-25 (b) Moneys collected are subject to audit by the 7-1 comptroller. Moneys spent are subject to audit by the state 7-2 auditor. 7-3 Sec. 420.012. ATTORNEY GENERAL SUPERVISION OF COLLECTION OF 7-4 COSTS; FAILURE TO COMPLY. (a) If the attorney general has reason 7-5 to believe that a court or a community supervision office has not 7-6 been assessing costs due under article 42.12 or article 42.18, Code 7-7 of Criminal Procedure, or has not been making a reasonable effort 7-8 to collect those costs, the attorney general shall send a warning 7-9 letter to the court or the governing body of the governmental unit 7-10 in which the court is located. 7-11 (b) Within 60 days after receipt of a warning letter, the 7-12 court or governing body shall respond in writing to the attorney 7-13 general, specifically referring to the charges in the warning 7-14 letter. 7-15 (c) If the court or governing body does not respond or if 7-16 the attorney general considers the response inadequate, the 7-17 attorney general may request the comptroller to audit the records 7-18 of: 7-19 (1) the court; 7-20 (2) the community supervision office; 7-21 (3) the officer charged with collecting the costs; or 7-22 (4) the treasury of the governmental unit in which the 7-23 court is located. 7-24 (d) The comptroller shall give the attorney general the 7-25 results of the audit. 8-1 (e) If, using the results of the audit and other evidence 8-2 available, the attorney general finds that a court or a community 8-3 supervision office is not assessing costs or fees due under article 8-4 42.12 or 42.18, Code of Criminal Procedure, or is not making a 8-5 reasonable effort to collect those costs, the attorney general may: 8-6 (1) refuse award grants under this subchapter to 8-7 residents of the jurisdiction served by the court or community 8-8 supervision office; or 8-9 (2) in the case of a court, notify the State 8-10 Commission on Judicial Conduct of the findings. 8-11 (f) The failure, refusal, or neglect of a judicial officer 8-12 to comply with a requirement of this subchapter: 8-13 (1) constitutes official misconduct; and 8-14 (2) is grounds for removal from office. 8-15 SUBCHAPTER B. COLLECTION AND PRESERVATION OF EVIDENCE OF SEX 8-16 OFFENSE 8-17 Sec. 420.031. EVIDENCE COLLECTION PROTOCOL; KITS. (a) The 8-18 service shall develop an evidence collection protocol that shall 8-19 include collection procedures and a list of requirements for the 8-20 contents of an evidence collection kit for use in the collection 8-21 and preservation of evidence of a sexual assault or other sex 8-22 offense. 8-23 (1) Medical personnel collecting evidence of a sexual 8-24 assault or other sex offense, shall use a service approved 8-25 collection kit and protocol. 9-1 (2) Law enforcement personnel who are collecting 9-2 evidence from clothing or the scene of the offense shall use a 9-3 service approved collection kit and protocol. 9-4 (b) An evidence collection kit must contain the following 9-5 items: 9-6 (1) items to collect and preserve evidence of a sexual 9-7 assault or other sex offense; and 9-8 (2) other items recommended by the Evidence Collection 9-9 Protocol Advisory Committee of the attorney general and determined 9-10 necessary for the kit by the attorney general. 9-11 (c) In developing evidence collection procedures and 9-12 requirements, the service shall consult with individuals and 9-13 organizations having knowledge and experience in the issues of 9-14 sexual assault and other sex offenses. 9-15 (d) A law enforcement agency that requests a medical 9-16 examination of a victim of an alleged sexual assault or other sex 9-17 offense for use in the investigation or prosecution of the offense 9-18 shall pay the costs of the evidence collection kit. This 9-19 subsection does not require a law enforcement agency to pay any 9-20 costs of treatment for injuries. 9-21 (e) Evidence collected under this section may not be 9-22 released unless the survivor of the offense or a legal 9-23 representative of the survivor signs a written consent to release 9-24 the evidence. 9-25 (f) Failure to comply with evidence collection procedures or 10-1 requirements adopted under this section does not affect the 10-2 admissibility of the evidence in a trial of the offense. 10-3 SECTION 2. Chapter 44, Health and Safety Code, is repealed. 10-4 SECTION 3. SEVERABILITY. If any section, sentence, clause, 10-5 or part of this Act shall, for any reason, be held invalid, such 10-6 invalidity shall not affect the remaining portions of the Act, and 10-7 it is hereby declared to be the intention of this legislature to 10-8 have passed each section, sentence, clause, or part irrespective of 10-9 the fact that any other section, sentence, clause, or part may be 10-10 declared invalid. 10-11 SECTION 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect on 10-12 September 1, 1997. 10-13 SECTION 5. EMERGENCY. The importance of this legislation 10-14 and the crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 10-15 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 10-16 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 10-17 days in each house be suspended, and it is so enacted.