CSSSHB 20(STA): "An Act relating to sexual assault; requiring law enforcement agencies to test sexual assault examination kits; requiring notification of completion of testing; relating to reports on untested sexual assault examination kits; and providing for an effective date."
00 CS FOR SPONSOR SUBSTITUTE FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 20(STA) 01 "An Act relating to sexual assault; requiring law enforcement agencies to test sexual 02 assault examination kits; requiring notification of completion of testing; relating to 03 reports on untested sexual assault examination kits; and providing for an effective 04 date." 05 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 * Section 1. AS 11.41.410(a) is amended to read: 07 (a) An offender commits the crime of sexual assault in the first degree if 08 (1) the offender engages in sexual penetration with another person 09 without consent of that person; 10 (2) the offender attempts to engage in sexual penetration with another 11 person without consent of that person and causes serious physical injury to that 12 person; 13 (3) the offender engages in sexual penetration with another person 14 (A) who [THE OFFENDER KNOWS] is mentally incapable;
01 and 02 (B) who is in the offender's care 03 (i) by authority of law; or 04 (ii) in a facility or program that is required by law to be 05 licensed by the state; or 06 (4) the offender engages in sexual penetration with a person who [THE 07 OFFENDER KNOWS] is unaware that a sexual act is being committed and 08 (A) the offender is a health care worker; and 09 (B) the offense takes place during the course of professional 10 treatment of the victim. 11 * Sec. 2. AS 11.41.420(a) is amended to read: 12 (a) An offender commits the crime of sexual assault in the second degree if 13 (1) the offender engages in sexual contact with another person without 14 consent of that person; 15 (2) the offender engages in sexual contact with a person 16 (A) who [THE OFFENDER KNOWS] is mentally incapable; 17 and 18 (B) who is in the offender's care 19 (i) by authority of law; or 20 (ii) in a facility or program that is required by law to be 21 licensed by the state; 22 (3) the offender engages in sexual penetration with a person who [THE 23 OFFENDER KNOWS] is 24 (A) mentally incapable; 25 (B) incapacitated; or 26 (C) unaware that a sexual act is being committed; or 27 (4) the offender engages in sexual contact with a person who [THE 28 OFFENDER KNOWS] is unaware that a sexual act is being committed and 29 (A) the offender is a health care worker; and 30 (B) the offense takes place during the course of professional 31 treatment of the victim.
01 * Sec. 3. AS 11.41.425(a) is amended to read: 02 (a) An offender commits the crime of sexual assault in the third degree if the 03 offender 04 (1) engages in sexual contact with a person who [THE OFFENDER 05 KNOWS] is 06 (A) mentally incapable; 07 (B) incapacitated; or 08 (C) unaware that a sexual act is being committed; 09 (2) while employed in a state correctional facility or other placement 10 designated by the commissioner of corrections for the custody and care of prisoners, 11 engages in sexual penetration with a person who the offender knows is committed to 12 the custody of the Department of Corrections to serve a term of imprisonment or 13 period of temporary commitment; 14 (3) engages in sexual penetration with a person 18 or 19 years of age 15 who the offender knows is committed to the custody of the Department of Health and 16 Social Services under AS 47.10 or AS 47.12 and the offender is the legal guardian of 17 the person; 18 (4) while employed in the state by a law enforcement agency as a 19 peace officer, or while acting as a peace officer in the state, engages in sexual 20 penetration with a person with reckless disregard that the person is in the custody or 21 the apparent custody of the offender, or is committed to the custody of a law 22 enforcement agency; 23 (5) while employed by the state or a municipality of the state as a 24 probation officer or parole officer, or while acting as a probation officer or parole 25 officer in the state, engages in sexual penetration with a person with reckless disregard 26 that the person is on probation or parole; or 27 (6) while employed as a juvenile probation officer or as a juvenile 28 facility staff, engages in sexual penetration with a person 18 or 19 years of age with 29 reckless disregard that the person is committed to the custody or probationary 30 supervision of the Department of Health and Social Services. 31 * Sec. 4. AS 44.41 is amended by adding a new section to read:
01 Sec. 44.41.065. Sexual assault examination kits. (a) When a law enforcement 02 agency collects a sexual assault examination kit under AS 18.68.010, the agency shall 03 (1) within 30 days after the agency collects the sexual assault 04 examination kit, send the sexual assault examination kit to an accredited laboratory in 05 coordination with the Department of Public Safety or a laboratory operated by the 06 Department of Public Safety; 07 (2) ensure that the laboratory to which the sexual assault examination 08 kit is sent under (1) of this subsection conducts a serological or DNA test on the 09 sexual assault examination kit within one year after the laboratory receives the sexual 10 assault examination kit; and 11 (3) within two weeks after the laboratory that receives the sexual 12 assault examination kit under (1) of this subsection completes serological or DNA 13 testing, make a reasonable effort to notify the victim from whom the sexual assault 14 examination kit was collected that the sexual assault examination kit has been tested. 15 (b) A criminal action may not be dismissed nor the evidence deemed 16 nonadmissible for failure to be tested within the times established in (a)(1) and (2) of 17 this section. 18 (c) If a case is resolved before a sexual assault examination kit is tested, a law 19 enforcement agency is not required to meet the time limits established in (a) of this 20 section. 21 (d) In this section, 22 (1) "law enforcement agency" or "agency" has the meaning given to 23 "law enforcement agency" in AS 12.36.090; 24 (2) "victim" has the meaning given in AS 11.41.470. 25 * Sec. 5. AS 44.41.070(a) is amended to read: 26 (a) By September 1 of each year, each law enforcement agency and state 27 department charged with the maintenance, storage, and preservation of sexual assault 28 examination kits shall conduct an inventory of untested sexual assault examination kits 29 and report, in writing, to the Department of Public Safety the number of untested 30 sexual assault examination kits in the possession of the agency or department, the 31 number of sexual assault examination kits that the law enforcement agency or
01 state department has determined is ineligible for testing under (e) of this section, 02 with the reason or reasons the untested sexual assault examination kits were 03 determined to be ineligible for testing, and the date on which each untested sexual 04 assault examination kit was collected. 05 * Sec. 6. AS 44.41.070(b) is amended to read: 06 (b) By November 1 of each year, the Department of Public Safety shall 07 prepare and transmit a report to the president of the senate and the speaker of the 08 house of representatives that contains 09 (1) the number of untested sexual assault examination kits stored by 10 each law enforcement agency or department and the number of sexual assault 11 examination kits that the law enforcement agency or state department has 12 determined is ineligible for testing under (e) of this section, with the reason or 13 reasons the untested sexual assault examination kits were determined to be 14 ineligible for testing; 15 (2) the date each untested sexual assault examination kit was collected; 16 and 17 (3) a plan for addressing the backlog and prevention of a backlog of 18 untested sexual assault examination kits. 19 * Sec. 7. AS 44.41.070 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 20 (e) A sexual assault examination kit is ineligible for testing if the law 21 enforcement agency or state department finds that the sexual assault examination kit 22 (1) is scientifically unviable; 23 (2) does not meet eligibility requirements for inclusion in the 24 Combined DNA Index System database; or 25 (3) was collected from a person who wishes to remain anonymous. 26 * Sec. 8. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 27 read: 28 APPLICABILITY. AS 11.41.410(a), as amended by sec. 1 of this Act, 29 AS 11.41.420(a), as amended by sec. 2 of this Act, and AS 11.41.425(a), as amended by sec. 30 3 of this Act, apply to offenses committed on or after the effective date of secs. 1 - 3 of this 31 Act.