Amended in Senate April 1, 2013

Senate BillNo. 107


Introduced by Senator Corbett

(Coauthors: Senators De León, DeSaulnier, Galgiani, Hancock, Jackson, Liu, and Pavley)

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bonilla, Bonta, Buchanan, Campos, Frazier, Mitchell, Quirk, Wieckowski, and Williams)

January 10, 2013


An act to amend Section 13823.95 of the Penal Code, relating to sexual assault.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 107, as amended, Corbett. Sexual assault: victim medical evidentiary examination.

Existing law provides that the 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 to the local law enforcement agency in whose jurisdiction the alleged offense occurred. Existing law authorizes the local law enforcement agency to seek reimbursement from the California Emergency Management Agency or its successor, the Office of Emergency Services, for the costs of those examinations, as specified, in those cases in which the victim does not participate in the criminal justice system and authorizes, until January 1, 2014, the California Emergency Management Agency or the Office of Emergency Services to utilize certain federal grant moneys to provide that reimbursement.

This bill would extend indefinitely the authorization to utilize those federal grant moneys to provide that reimbursement.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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SECTION 1.  

Section 13823.95 of the Penal Code is amended
2to read:

3

13823.95.  

(a) No costs incurred by a qualified health care
4professional, hospital, or other emergency medical facility for the
5medical evidentiary examination portion of the examination of the
6victim of a sexual assault, as described in the protocol developed
7pursuant to Section 13823.5, when the examination is performed
8pursuant to Sections 13823.5 and 13823.7, shall be charged directly
9or indirectly to the victim of the assault.

10(b) Any victim of a sexual assault who seeks a medical
11evidentiary examination, as that term is used in Section 13823.93,
12shall be provided with a medical evidentiary examination. No
13victim of a sexual assault shall be required to participate or to agree
14to participate in the criminal justice system, either prior to the
15examination or at any other time.

16(c) The cost of a medical evidentiary examination performed
17by a qualified health care professional, hospital, or other emergency
18medical facility for a victim of a sexual assault shall be treated as
19a local cost and charged to the local law enforcement agency in
20whose jurisdiction the alleged offense was committed; provided,
21however, that the local law enforcement agency may seek
22reimbursement, as provided in subdivision (d), for the cost of
23conducting the medical evidentiary examination portion of a
24medical examination of a sexual assault victim who does not
25participate in the criminal justice system.

26(d) The amount that may be charged by a qualified health care
27professional, hospital, or other emergency medical facility to
28perform the medical evidentiary examination portion of a medical
29examination of a victim of a sexual assault shall not exceed three
30hundred dollars ($300). The Office of Emergency Services shall
31use the discretionary funds from federal grants awarded to the
32agency pursuant to the federal Violence Against Women and
33Department of Justicebegin delete Reorganizationend deletebegin insert Reauthorizationend insert Act of 2005
34through the federal Office of Violence Against Women,
35specifically, the STOP (Services, Training, Officers, and
P3    1Prosecutors) Violence Against Women Formula Grant Program,
2to cover the cost of the medical evidentiary examination portion
3of a medical examination of a sexual assault victim.



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