 |
ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh Legislature, First Regular Session
AMENDED
tracking system; sexual assault kits
Purpose
Establishes a Sexual Assault Kit Evidence Tracking System (System) to track and update the location and status of sexual assault kits (SAKs) and prescribes requirements for System operations and records.
Background
A health care facility that obtains written consent to release SAK evidence must notify within 48 hours after collection the investigating law enforcement agency (LEA), if known, or the LEA that has jurisdiction where the facility is located. Each SAK that is submitted for analysis must be analyzed as soon as practicable if sufficient personnel and resources are available. A public accredited crime laboratory (crime laboratory) must ensure that all eligible DNA profiles are uploaded into: 1) databases that are maintained by state or municipal LEAs, if the profile meets the requirements of the state or municipal comparison policy; or 2) the Federal Bureau of Investigation's combined DNA index system database if the profile meets the requirements of the Bureau's comparison policies. An LEA is the police department of any state, county, municipality or postsecondary educational institution or for any agency that has an agreement in place for evidence analysis (A.R.S. § 13-1426).
By August 30 of each year, each LEA and each crime laboratory must report to the Department of Public Safety (DPS) outlined information relating to the collection and handling of SAK evidence. By December 1 of each year, the DPS must provide a report to the Governor and Legislature on the compilation of received reports and post the Annual Report of SAKs on DPS's website (A.R.S. § 13-1427). The report for FY 2024 gathered information from 104 LEAs and found that: 1) a total of 1,735 SAKs were received; 2) 80.6 percent of those reports were subsequently submitted to a crime laboratory for analysis; and 3) 229 survivors utilized the Track-Kit System 1,698 times to view the progress of their SAKs (DPS).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
2. Requires a medical provider, an LEA, a crime laboratory or other person or entity that has custody or use of SAK evidence to submit that information into the System.
3. Requires the System to track the location and status of each SAK, including:
a) the initial collection of evidence for the SAK in a forensic medical examination;
b) the receipt and storage of the SAK at an LEA;
c) the receipt and analysis of the SAK at a crime laboratory; and
d) the storage and destruction of the SAK.
4. Requires the System to allow a health care facility that performs a forensic medical examination of a victim, an LEA, a crime laboratory, a prosecutor or another entity that provides a chain of custody for SAK evidence to update and track the status and location of the SAKs.
5. Requires the System to allow a victim to anonymously track and receive updates regarding the status and location of the victim's SAK evidence, with advance notification of destruction of the SAK.
6. Specifies that SAK evidence records that are entered into the System are confidential, except that the records may be accessed by:
a) the victim for whom the SAK evidence was completed; or
b) an employee of an entity required to submit SAK evidence to the System for the purposes of updating or tracking the status or location of SAK evidence.
7. Defines a crime laboratory as a municipal crime laboratory or a crime laboratory that is established under the scientific criminal analysis section of DPS for the purpose of giving assistance to officers of the state charged with law enforcement.
8. Defines an LEA.
9. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Amendments Adopted by Committee of the Whole
1. Adds a medical examiner as a person required to submit the collected SAK information to the System.
2. Modifies System requirements to:
a) track SAK evidence collected from a death investigation or for the purposes of prescribed federal rights;
b) track the completion of analysis of the SAK by a crime laboratory; and
c) allow a person or entity required to submit information to the System, rather than allowing outlined entities that provide a chain of custody for SAK evidence, to update the status and location of the SAKs.
3. Stipulates that a victim may receive advance notification of destruction of a SAK if the victim has provided contact information and chosen to receive notifications.
4. Allows a person or an employee of an authorized person to access System records for the purposes of updating the status or location of SAK evidence.
5. Exempts, from being required to submit information to and participate in DPS's System, an LEA in a city with a population of more than 1,000,000 persons with a functional and operational SAK evidence tracking system in place before the general effective date that meets the requirement prescribed for DPS's System.
6. Stipulates that an exempt LEA is subject to the annual reporting requirements and statutory requirements for sexual assault investigations and collected biological evidence testing.
7. Removes the definition of an LEA.
8. Makes technical and conforming changes.
Amendments Adopted by Conference Committee
· The amendments adopted by the Senate were rejected.
House Action Senate Action
JUD 2/12/25 DP 8-0-0-1 PS 3/12/25 DP 7-0-0
3rd Read 2/20/25 56-2-2 3rd Read 3/31/25 27-1-2
Prepared by Senate Research
April 22, 2025
KJA/AG/ci