By: Davis S.B. No. 1636
 
 
 
   
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the collection, analysis, and preservation of sexual
  assault or DNA evidence.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 411.151, Government Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
         (e)  The department's failure to expunge a DNA record as
  required by this section may not serve as the sole grounds for a
  court in a criminal proceeding to exclude evidence based on or
  derived from the contents of that record.
         SECTION 2.  Section 420.003, Government Code, is amended by
  amending Subdivisions (1) and (6) and adding Subdivisions (1-a),
  (1-b), and (1-c) to read as follows:
               (1)  "Accredited crime laboratory" means a crime
  laboratory, as that term is defined by Article 38.35, Code of
  Criminal Procedure, that has been accredited under Section
  411.0205.
               (1-a)  "Advocate" means a person who provides advocacy
  services as an employee or volunteer of a sexual assault program.
               (1-b)  "Department" means the Department of Public
  Safety of the State of Texas.
               (1-c)  "Law enforcement agency" means a state or local
  law enforcement agency in this state with jurisdiction over the
  investigation of a sexual assault.
               (6)  "Sexual assault nurse examiner" means a registered
  nurse who has completed a service-approved examiner training course
  described by Section 420.011.
         SECTION 3.  Section 420.031(e), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (e)  Evidence collected under this section may not be
  released unless a signed, [the survivor of the offense or a legal
  representative of the survivor signs a] written consent to release
  the evidence is obtained as provided by Section 420.073.
         SECTION 4.  Subchapter B, Chapter 420, Government Code, is
  amended by adding Sections 420.033, 420.034, 420.035, and 420.036
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 420.033.  PRESENCE OF PHYSICIAN NOT REQUIRED FOR
  FORENSIC MEDICAL EXAMINATION. A sexual assault nurse examiner may
  conduct a forensic medical examination without the presence or
  participation of a physician.
         Sec. 420.034.  COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT
  EVIDENCE. (a)  A law enforcement agency that receives sexual
  assault evidence collected under this chapter or other law shall
  submit that evidence to an accredited crime laboratory for analysis
  not later than the 10th day after the date on which that evidence
  was received.
         (b)  A person who submits sexual assault evidence to an
  accredited crime laboratory under this chapter or other law shall
  provide the following signed, written certification with each
  submission: "This evidence is being submitted by (name of person
  making submission) in connection with a criminal investigation."
         (c)  If sufficient personnel and resources are available, an
  accredited crime laboratory shall complete its analysis of sexual
  assault evidence submitted under this chapter or other law not
  later than the 90th day after the date on which the laboratory
  received the evidence.
         (d)  To ensure the completion of analyses within the period
  required by Subsection (c), the department and other applicable
  public accredited crime laboratories may contract with private
  accredited crime laboratories as appropriate to perform those
  analyses, subject to the necessary quality assurance reviews by the
  public accredited crime laboratories.
         (e)  The failure of a law enforcement agency to submit sexual
  assault evidence within the period required by this section does
  not affect the authority of:
               (1)  the agency to submit the evidence to an accredited
  crime laboratory for analysis; or
               (2)  an accredited crime laboratory to analyze the
  evidence or provide the results of that analysis to appropriate
  persons.
         Sec. 420.035.  DATABASE COMPARISON REQUIRED. On the request
  of any appropriate person and after an evidence collection kit
  containing biological evidence has been analyzed by an accredited
  crime laboratory and any necessary quality assurance reviews have
  been performed, the department shall compare the biological
  evidence with DNA profiles maintained in:
               (1)  state databases, including the DNA database
  maintained under Subchapter G, Chapter 411, if the amount and
  quality of the analyzed sample meet the requirements of the state
  database comparison policies; and
               (2)  the CODIS DNA database established by the Federal
  Bureau of Investigation, if the amount and quality of the analyzed
  sample meet the requirements of the bureau's CODIS comparison
  policies.
         Sec. 420.036.  CHAIN OF CUSTODY. Medical, law enforcement,
  department, and laboratory personnel who handle sexual assault
  evidence under this chapter or other law shall maintain the chain of
  custody of the evidence from the time the evidence is collected
  until the time the evidence is destroyed.
         SECTION 5.  Sections 420.072(a) and (b), Government Code,
  are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  A communication or record that is confidential under
  this subchapter may be disclosed in court or in an administrative
  proceeding if:
               (1)  the proceeding is brought by the survivor against
  an advocate or a sexual assault program or is a criminal proceeding
  or a certification revocation proceeding in which disclosure is
  relevant to the claims or defense of the advocate or sexual assault
  program; or
               (2)  the survivor or other appropriate person [a person
  authorized to act on behalf of the survivor] consents in writing to
  the release of the confidential information as provided by Section
  420.073.
         (b)  A communication or record that is confidential under
  this subchapter may be disclosed only to:
               (1)  medical or law enforcement personnel if the
  advocate determines that there is a probability of imminent
  physical danger to any person for whom the communication or record
  is relevant or if there is a probability of immediate mental or
  emotional injury to the survivor;
               (2)  a governmental agency if the disclosure is
  required or authorized by law;
               (3)  a qualified person to the extent necessary for a
  management audit, financial audit, program evaluation, or
  research, except that a report of the research, audit, or
  evaluation may not directly or indirectly identify a survivor;
               (4)  a person authorized to receive the disclosure as a
  result of [who has the] written consent obtained under [of the
  survivor or of a person authorized to act on the survivor's behalf
  as provided by] Section 420.073; or
               (5)  an advocate or a person under the supervision of a
  counseling supervisor who is participating in the evaluation or
  counseling of or advocacy for the survivor.
         SECTION 6.  Section 420.073, Government Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (a-1) and (a-2) to
  read as follows:
         (a)  Consent for the release of confidential information
  must be in writing and signed by:
               (1)  the survivor, if the survivor is 13 years of age or
  older;
               (2)  the survivor's parent or guardian or an employee of
  the Department of Family and Protective Services, if the survivor
  is younger than 13 years of age; or
               (3)  the survivor's [the survivor, a parent or legal
  guardian if the survivor is a minor, a legal guardian if the
  survivor has been adjudicated incompetent to manage the survivor's
  personal affairs, an attorney ad litem appointed for the survivor,
  or a] personal representative, if the survivor is deceased.
         (a-1)  For purposes of Subsection (a)(1), a written consent
  signed by an incapacitated person, as that term is defined by
  Section 601, Texas Probate Code, is effective regardless of whether
  the incapacitated person's guardian, guardian ad litem, or other
  legal agent signs the release. If the incapacitated person is
  unable to provide a signature and the guardian, guardian ad litem,
  or other legal agent is unavailable or unwilling to sign the
  release, then the investigating law enforcement officer may sign
  the release.
         (a-2)  The written consent must specify:
               (1)  the information or records covered by the release;
               (2)  the reason or purpose for the release; and
               (3)  the person to whom the information is to be
  released.
         SECTION 7.  Articles 56.065(f) and (g), Code of Criminal
  Procedure, are amended to read as follows:
         (f)  The department, consistent with Chapter 420, Government
  Code, may develop procedures regarding the submission or collection
  of additional evidence of the alleged sexual assault other than
  through an examination as described by this article.
         (g)  The department, consistent with Chapter 420, Government
  Code, shall develop procedures for the transfer and preservation of
  evidence collected under this article to a crime laboratory or
  other suitable location designated by the public safety director of
  the department.  The receiving entity shall preserve the evidence
  until the earlier of:
               (1)  the second anniversary of the date the evidence
  was collected; or
               (2)  the date on which [the victim or a legal
  representative of the victim signs a] written consent to release
  the evidence is obtained as provided by Section 420.073, Government
  Code.
         SECTION 8.  On or after the effective date of this Act, the
  Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas shall ensure that
  any unanalyzed sexual assault evidence collected:
               (1)  on or after August 1, 2011, is analyzed in
  accordance with Chapter 420, Government Code, as amended by this
  Act; and
               (2)  before August 1, 2011, is analyzed as nearly as
  possible to the time provided by Chapter 420, Government Code, as
  amended by this Act.
         SECTION 9.  (a)  A law enforcement agency in possession of
  sexual assault evidence that has not been submitted for laboratory
  analysis shall:
               (1)  not later than October 15, 2011, submit to the
  Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas a list of the
  agency's active criminal cases for which sexual assault evidence
  has not yet been submitted for laboratory analysis; and
               (2)  not later than April 1, 2012, submit to the
  Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas all sexual assault
  evidence pertaining to those active cases that has not yet been
  submitted for laboratory analysis.
         (b)  Not later than February 15, 2013, the Department of
  Public Safety of the State of Texas shall submit to the governor and
  the appropriate standing committees of the senate and the house of
  representatives a report containing:
               (1)  a projected timeline for the completion of
  laboratory analyses, in accordance with Chapter 420, Government
  Code, as amended by this Act, of all unanalyzed sexual assault
  evidence submitted to the department under Subsection (a)(2);
               (2)  a request for any necessary funding to accomplish
  the analyses under Subdivision (1); and
               (3)  if the department determines that outsourcing of a
  portion of the submitted evidence is necessary for timely analyses
  of the evidence:
                     (A)  a proposal for determining which evidence
  should be outsourced; and
                     (B)  a list of laboratories the department
  determines are capable of completing the outsourced analyses.
         (c)  Not later than September 1, 2014, and to the extent that
  funding is available, the Department of Public Safety of the State
  of Texas shall, as provided by Sections 420.034 and 420.035,
  Government Code, as added by this Act, analyze or contract for the
  analysis of, and complete the required database comparison
  regarding, all sexual assault evidence submitted to the department
  under Subsection (a)(2) of this section.
         SECTION 10.  Notwithstanding Chapter 420, Government Code,
  as amended by this Act, and Section 8 of this Act, this Act does not
  apply to sexual assault evidence collected before September 1,
  1996.
         SECTION 11.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.