BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 534|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 534
Author: Corbett (D)
Amended: 8/26/11
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 3/29/11
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Harman, Liu, Price, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Calderon
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 9-0, 5/26/11
AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Emmerson, Lieu, Pavley,
Price, Runner, Steinberg
SENATE FLOOR : 39-0, 6/2/11
AYES: Alquist, Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Calderon,
Cannella, Corbett, Correa, De Le�n, DeSaulnier, Dutton,
Emmerson, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Hancock, Harman,
Hernandez, Huff, Kehoe, La Malfa, Leno, Lieu, Liu,
Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Rubio,
Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland, Vargas, Walters, Wolk,
Wright, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 8/31/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Sexual assault victims: forensic medical exams
SOURCE : Alameda County District Attorney
DIGEST : This bill makes changes to sexual assault
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forensic protocol to conform California to federal
requirements for Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) funding.
Specifically, this bill (1) specifies that any sexual
assault victim who seeks a forensic medical exam is not
required to engage with law enforcement in order to receive
the exam; (2) authorizes a local law enforcement agency to
seek reimbursement for the cost of a forensic medical exam
involving a victim who has declined to participate in the
criminal justice system by applying to the California
Emergency Management Agency (CalEMA) for federal
discretionary VAWA funding from the Services, Training,
Officers and Prosecutors (STOP) Violence Against Women
Formula Grant Program. The authorization to use the VAWA
STOP funds for medical forensic examinations sunsets
January 1, 2014; and (3) encourages CalEMA to partner with
specified professional organizations when developing the
required training course for health professionals relating
to examination and treatment of sexual assault victims.
Assembly Amendments (1) provide that victims of sexual
assault who request a medical evidentiary examination shall
be provided one; (2) establishes a statewide fee for the
above examination; (3) delete provisions that provide that
victims of sexual assault are not required to participate
in the criminal justice system or cooperate with law
enforcement in order to be provided with a forensic medical
exam.
ANALYSIS : Existing federal law includes the VAWA, which
establishes an office within the Department of Justice to
administer the Act, including the STOP grant program. (42
USCA Section 3796.) The Office has authority over all
grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts pursuant to
VAWA, and develops policy, protocols, and guidelines for
programs receiving grants under the Act. (42 USCA Section
3796gg0b.)
Existing federal law bars a state from receiving a VAWA
grant unless state law provides as follows:
A sexual assault victim shall not be charged for forensic
and medical examinations, as specified.
A victim shall not be required to seek reimbursement from
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his/her insurance carrier.
The requirement can be met if the state provides for
victim reimbursement for medical costs, as specified,
state law can place no limit on the amount of
reimbursement and the state must provide reimbursement
within 90 days of receipt of notice of the expense.
A sexual assault victim shall not be required to
participate in the criminal justice system in order to
receive a forensic medical exam or to receive
reimbursement for the exam. (42 USCA Section 3796gg-4.)
Existing California law generally provides for standards
and protocols for the examination and treatment of victims
of sexual assault and attempted sexual assault, including
child molestation, and the collection and preservation of
evidence therefrom. (Penal Code Section 13823.5.)
Existing California law provides that the protocol for 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:
Notification of injuries and a report of suspected child
sexual abuse to law enforcement authorities.
Obtaining consent for the examination, for the treatment
of injuries, for the collection of evidence, and for the
photographing of injuries.
Taking a patient history of sexual assault and other
relevant medical history.
Performance of the physical examination for evidence of
sexual assault.
Collection of physical evidence of assault.
Collection of other medical specimens.
Procedures for the preservation and disposition of
physical evidence. (Penal Code Section 13823.7.)
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Existing California 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, as specified, when the
examination is performed for the purposes of gathering
evidence for possible prosecution, shall be charged
directly or indirectly to the victim of the assault. Those
costs shall be treated as local costs and charged to the
local governmental agency in whose jurisdiction the alleged
offense was committed. (Penal Code Section 13823.95.)
Existing law provides that bills for these costs shall be
submitted to the law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction
in which the alleged offense was committed which requests
the examination, and that the law enforcement agency in the
jurisdiction in which the alleged offense 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.
This bill provides that victims of sexual assault are not
required to participate in the criminal justice system in
order to be provided with a forensic medical examination.
Specifically, this bill:
1.Adds a provision to protocol relating to the medical
treatment of victims of sexual assault to provide for the
collection of other medical specimens.
2.States that 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
shall be charged directly or indirectly to a victim of
assault.
3.States that the cost of a medical evidentiary examination
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 for the cost of
conducting the medical evidentiary examination portion of
a medical examination of a sexual assault victim who does
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not participate in the criminal justice system.
4.States that 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 $300.
5.States that California Emergency Management Agency
(CalEMA) shall use the discretionary funds from federal
grants awarded to the agency pursuant to the STOP
(Services, Training, Officers, and Prosecutors) Violence
Against Women Formula Grant Program to cover the cost of
the medical evidentiary examination of a sexual assault
victim.
6.Authorizes CalEMA to use grant funds to pay for medical
evidentiary examinations until January 1, 2014.
7.Mandates CalEMA to develop a course of training for
qualified health care professionals relating to the
examination and treatment of victims of sexual assault,
and consult with health care professionals and
appropriate law enforcement agencies and obtain
recommendations on the best means to disseminate the
course of training on a statewide basis.
8.Encourages CalEMA to designate that a course of training
for qualified health care professionals, as defined, and
states that CalEMA shall partner with other allied
professional training courses, such as sexual assault
investigator training administered by the Commission on
Peace Officer Standards and Training, or sexual assault
prosecutor training as administered by California
District Attorneys Association or sexual assault advocate
training as administered by California Coalition Against
Sexual Assault.
9.Defines "qualified health care professional" as a
physician, a surgeon, a nurse who works in consultation
with a physician or surgeon or who conducts examinations
in a general acute care hospital or in the office of a
physician or surgeon, a nurse practitioner, or a
physician's assistant, as defined by law.
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Prior Legislation
SB 50 (Corbett, 2009) passed the Senate Floor with a 39-0
vote on June 3, 2010. SB 50 died in the Assembly.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/31/11)
Alameda County District Attorney (source)
Alameda County Board of Supervisors
California Coalition Against Sexual Assault
California National Organization for Women
California Partnership to End Domestic Violence
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
National Council of Jewish Women Los Angeles
Police Officers Research Association of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author's office states in many
parts of California, the only way a victim can receive a
forensic exam without having to pay for it is when a law
enforcement agency requests and authorizes the forensic
exam. In cases where a victim chooses not to cooperate
with law enforcement and the law enforcement agency does
not authorize the exam, the victim may not receive such an
exam. Furthermore, the jurisdiction is out of compliance
with VAWA regulations, thereby jeopardizing the state's
compliance with VAWA and eligibility for STOP funding.
California currently receives approximately $13 million
annually from the federal government for VAWA. If a state
is found to be out of compliance with VAWA requirements,
they may be at risk of losing these federal dollars.
Each year, women experience about 4.8 million intimate
partner-related physical assaults and rapes. According to
the Department of Justice, the number of reported forcible
rapes increased 2.5 percent during the first six months of
2008 when compared to the same period in 2007 (from 2,748
to 2,818).
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Further, the author's office and sponsors, the Alameda
County District Attorney and the California Coalition
Against Sexual Assault state that this bill is necessary to
comply with VAWA requirements that sexual assault victims
not be denied medical forensic exams if they do not
cooperate with law enforcement.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 8/31/11
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani,
Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove,
Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger
Hern�ndez, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones,
Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor,
Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande,
Nielsen, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez, Portantino,
Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao,
Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Gorell, Norby
RJG:do 8/31/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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