SENATE BILL 423

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2017

INTRODUCED BY

Linda M. Lopez

AN ACT

RELATING TO SEXUAL ASSAULT; REQUIRING THE DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF AN ELECTRONIC DATABASE TO TRACK THE STATUS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT EXAMINATION KITS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. A new section of Chapter 30, Article 9 NMSA 1978 is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] SEXUAL ASSAULT EXAMINATION KITS--ELECTRONIC DATABASE--REQUIRED REPORTING.--

          A. The secretary of public safety shall develop, implement and supervise the maintenance of an electronic database to be used by authorized representatives to track the location, transmission and status of sexual assault examination kits.

          B. An authorized representative shall create a record in the electronic database in connection with every sexual assault examination kit that is collected, stored, transmitted to another location or tested. Each record shall include:

                (1) the name of the authorized representative who created the record;

                (2) the action taken by the authorized representative with respect to the sexual assault examination kit and the date on which that action was taken;

                (3) the location of the sexual assault examination kit at the time the record is created; and

                (4) any additional information required by the department of public safety.

          C. For the purposes of this section:

                (1) "authorized representative" means a law enforcement officer or representative of a law enforcement agency, a sexual assault examination nurse or other authorized health care provider who conducts examinations of victims of sexual assault or a representative of a laboratory that performs DNA testing services for a law enforcement agency;

                (2) "electronic database" means the database created in accordance with this section; and

                (3) "sexual assault examination kit" means any samples of biological material derived from a human body, including body fluid and hair and skin cells, collected during a medical examination of a survivor following a sexual assault."

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