SUMMARY

Pursuant to Resolve 1999, chapter 84, this bill is being submitted by the Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice to implement the recommendations of the Commission to Propose an Alternative Process for Forensic Examinations for Sexual Assault Victims. The bill outlines the responsibilities of the Victims' Compensation Board, hospitals and health care practitioners and law enforcement agencies in regards to forensic examinations of alleged victims of sexual assault.

The bill directs the Victims' Compensation Board to pay for all forensic examinations conducted on or after November 1, 2000 from the Victims' Compensation Fund and to track expenditures for forensic examinations separately. The board shall determine by rule what a forensic examination may include for purposes of payment. An examination must include at least all services directly related to the gathering of forensic evidence and related testing and treatment for pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Forensic examination payments are not subject to any other provision of the victims' compensation program and are not considered payments to victims for purposes of the cap.

The bill directs the Department of Public Safety to determine by rule what a standardized forensic examination kit includes and to furnish the kits to hospitals and health care practitioners who perform forensic examinations of sexual assault victims.

A hospital or health care practitioner that completes a forensic examination shall bill the Victims' Compensation Board directly for payment. The board shall pay the hospital or health care practitioner the actual costs of the examination up to a maximum of $500. Hospitals and health care practitioners performing forensic examinations shall use uniform kits developed and furnished by the Department of Public Safety. A victim is not required to report the alleged offense to law enforcement in order for the board to pay for the examination. If an alleged victim of gross sexual assault has a forensic examination but has not reported the alleged offense to a law enforcement agency when the examination is complete, the hospital or health care practitioner that completed the forensic examination shall notify the nearest law enforcement agency. That law enforcement agency shall transport the completed kit, identified only by a tracking number assigned by the hospital or health care practitioner, to