BILL NUMBER: SB 534 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 1, 2011
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 31, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 26, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 15, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 28, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 31, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 25, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Senator Corbett
(Coauthors: Senators Hancock, Liu, and Price)
FEBRUARY 17, 2011
An act to amend Section 17612 of the Government Code, and to amend
Sections 13823.7, 13823.13, and 13823.95 of the Penal Code, relating
to victims of sexual assault.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 534, Corbett. Victims of sexual assault.
(1) Existing law provides that no costs incurred by a qualified
health care professional, hospital, or other emergency medical
facility for the examination of the victim of a sexual assault for
the purposes of gathering evidence for possible prosecution shall be
charged directly or indirectly to the victim of the assault. Existing
law provides that the law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction in
which the alleged sexual assault was committed which requests the
examination has the option of determining whether or not the
examination will be performed in the office of a physician and
surgeon, and bills for those costs shall be submitted to that local
jurisdiction and the local jurisdiction shall bear those costs.
This bill would delete the provision giving the local law
enforcement agency the option of whether or not the examination will
be performed in the office of a physician and surgeon.
The bill would provide that victims of sexual assault who request
a medical evidentiary examination shall be provided with one. The
bill would provide that the victim is not required to participate in
the criminal justice system, as specified. The bill would provide
that the cost of the medical evidentiary examination is not
chargeable, directly or indirectly, to the victim. The bill would
provide that the cost of that examination is a cost chargeable to the
local law enforcement agency in whose jurisdiction the alleged
offense occurred, provided however, that the local law enforcement
agency may seek reimbursement from the California Emergency
Management Agency for the costs of those examinations, as specified,
in those cases in which the victim does not participate in the
criminal justice system.
The bill would provide that the amount that a qualified health
care professional, hospital, or other emergency medical facility may
charge to perform the medical evidentiary examination portion of a
medical examination of a victim of sexual assault may not exceed
$300, and would specify certain federal grant moneys to be used by
the California Emergency Management Agency for reimbursement to local
law enforcement agencies for the cost of medical evidentiary
examinations, as specified, in those cases where the victim does not
participate in the criminal justice system. The bill would authorize
the agency to use those federal funds for that purpose until January
1, 2014.
This bill would make related conforming changes.
(2) Existing law requires the California Emergency Management
Agency to develop a course of training for qualified health care
professionals relating to the examination and treatment of victims of
sexual assault. Existing law requires that the agency consult with
health care professionals and law enforcement agencies in developing
the course.
This bill would encourage the agency to designate a course of
training for qualified health care professionals and require the
agency to partner with allied professional training courses, such as
sexual assault prosecutor training as administered by the California
District Attorneys Association, regarding that course of training, as
specified.
(3) For purposes of these provisions, existing law defines a
qualified health care professional as a licensed physician and
surgeon, or a nurse who works in consultation with a physician and
surgeon who conducts examinations for victims of sexual abuse.
This bill would include a currently licensed nurse practitioner
and a currently licensed physician assistant in the definition of a
qualified health care professional.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 17612 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
17612. (a) Upon receipt of the report submitted by the commission
pursuant to Section 17600, except as provided in Section 13823.95 of
the Penal Code, funding shall be provided in the subsequent Budget
Act for costs incurred in prior years. No funding shall be provided
for years in which a mandate is suspended.
(b) The Legislature may amend, modify, or supplement the
parameters and guidelines, reasonable reimbursement methodology, and
adopted statewide estimate of costs for the initial claiming period
and budget year for mandates contained in the annual Budget Act. If
the Legislature amends, modifies, or supplements the parameters and
guidelines, reasonable reimbursement methodology, and adopted
statewide estimate of costs for the initial claiming period and
budget year, it shall make a declaration in separate legislation
specifying the basis for the amendment, modification, or supplement.
(c) If the Legislature deletes from the annual Budget Act funding
for a mandate, the local agency or school district may file in the
Superior Court of the County of Sacramento an action in declaratory
relief to declare the mandate unenforceable and enjoin its
enforcement for that fiscal year.
SEC. 2. Section 13823.7 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
13823.7. The protocol adopted pursuant to Section 13823.5 for the
medical treatment of victims of sexual assault, which includes the
examination and treatment of victims of sexual assault or attempted
sexual assault, including child molestation, and the collection and
preservation of evidence therefrom shall include provisions for all
of the following:
(a) Notification of injuries and a report of suspected child
sexual abuse to law enforcement authorities.
(b) Obtaining consent for the examination, for the treatment of
injuries, for the collection of evidence, and for the photographing
of injuries.
(c) Taking a patient history of sexual assault and other relevant
medical history.
(d) Performance of the physical examination for evidence of sexual
assault.
(e) Collection of physical evidence of assault.
(f) Collection of other medical specimens.
(g) Procedures for the preservation and disposition of physical
evidence.
SEC. 3. Section 13823.95 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
13823.95. (a) No costs incurred by a qualified health care
professional, hospital, or other emergency medical facility for the
medical evidentiary examination portion of the examination of the
victim of a sexual assault, as described in the protocol developed
pursuant to Section 13823.5, when the examination is performed,
pursuant to Sections 13823.5 and 13823.7, shall be charged directly
or indirectly to the victim of the assault.
(b) Any victim of a sexual assault who seeks a medical evidentiary
examination, as that term is used in Section 13823.93, shall be
provided with a medical evidentiary examination. No victim of a
sexual assault shall be required to participate or to agree to
participate in the criminal justice system, either prior to the
examination, or at any other time.
(c) The cost of a medical evidentiary examination performed by a
qualified health care professional, hospital, or other emergency
medical facility for a victim of a sexual assault shall be treated as
a local cost and charged to the local law enforcement agency in
whose jurisdiction the alleged offense was committed, provided
however, that the local law enforcement agency may seek
reimbursement, as provided in subdivision (d), for the cost of
conducting the medical evidentiary examination portion of a medical
examination of a sexual assault victim who does not participate in
the criminal justice system.
(d) The amount that may be charged by a qualified health care
professional, hospital, or other emergency medical facility to
perform the medical evidentiary examination portion of a medical
examination of a victim of a sexual assault shall not exceed three
hundred dollars ($300). The California Emergency Management Agency
shall use the discretionary funds from federal grants awarded to the
agency pursuant to the federal Violence Against Women and Department
of Justice Reorganization Act of 2005 through the federal Office of
Violence Against Women, specifically, the STOP (Services, Training,
Officers, and Prosecutors) Violence Against Women Formula Grant
Program to cover the cost of the medical evidentiary examination
portion of a medical examination of a sexual assault victim. The
agency is authorized to use grant funds to pay for medical
evidentiary examinations until January 1, 2014.
SEC. 4. Section 13823.13 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
13823.13. (a) The agency shall develop a course of training for
qualified health care professionals relating to the examination and
treatment of victims of sexual assault. In developing the curriculum
for the course, the agency shall consult with health care
professionals and appropriate law enforcement agencies. The agency
shall also obtain recommendations from the same health care
professionals and appropriate law enforcement agencies on the best
means to disseminate the course of training on a statewide basis. The
agency is encouraged to designate a course of training for qualified
health care professionals, as described in this section, and shall
partner with other allied professionals training courses, such as
sexual assault investigator training administered by the Peace
Officer Standards and Training (POST), sexual assault prosecutor
training as administered by the California District Attorneys
Association (CDAA), or sexual assault advocate training as
administered by the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault
(CalCASA).
(b) The training course developed pursuant to subdivision (a)
shall be designed to train qualified health care professionals to do
all of the following:
(1) Perform a health assessment of victims of sexual assault in
accordance with any applicable minimum standards set forth in Section
13823.11.
(2) Collect and document physical and laboratory evidence in
accordance with any applicable minimum standards set forth in Section
13823.11.
(3) Provide information and referrals to victims of sexual assault
to enhance the continuity of care of victims.
(4) Present testimony in court.
(c) As used in this section, "qualified health care professional"
means a physician and surgeon currently licensed pursuant to Chapter
5 (commencing with Section 2000) of Division 2 of the Business and
Professions Code, or a nurse currently licensed pursuant to Chapter 6
(commencing with Section 2700) of Division 2 of the Business and
Professions Code who works in consultation with a physician and
surgeon or who conducts examinations described in Section 13823.9 in
a general acute care hospital or in the office of a physician and
surgeon, a nurse practitioner currently licensed pursuant to Chapter
6 (commencing with Section 2834) of Division 2 of the Business and
Professions Code, or a physician assistant licensed pursuant to
Chapter 7.7 (commencing with Section 3500) of Division 2 of the
Business and Professions Code.
(d) As used in this section, "appropriate law enforcement agencies"
may include, but shall not be limited to, the Attorney General of
the State of California, any district attorney, and any agency of the
State of California expressly authorized by statute to investigate
or prosecute law violators.