Florida Senate - 2016 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 636
Ì320858EÎ320858
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
01/25/2016 .
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The Committee on Criminal Justice (Bradley) recommended the
following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. Section 943.326, Florida Statutes, is created to
6 read:
7 943.326 DNA evidence collected in sexual offense
8 investigations.—
9 (1) A sexual offense evidence kit, or other DNA evidence if
10 a kit is not collected, must be submitted to a member of the
11 statewide criminal analysis laboratory system under s. 943.32
12 for forensic testing within 30 days after:
13 (a) Receipt of the evidence by a law enforcement agency if
14 a report of the sexual offense is made to the law enforcement
15 agency; or
16 (b) A request to have the evidence tested is made to the
17 medical provider or the law enforcement agency by:
18 1. The alleged victim;
19 2. The alleged victim’s parent, guardian, or legal
20 representative, if the alleged victim is a minor; or
21 3. The alleged victim’s personal representative, if the
22 alleged victim is deceased.
23 (2) An alleged victim or, if applicable, the person
24 representing the alleged victim under subparagraph (1)(b)2. or
25 subparagraph (1)(b)3. must be informed of the purpose of
26 submitting evidence for testing and the right to request testing
27 under subsection (1) by:
28 (a) A medical provider conducting a forensic physical
29 examination for purposes of a sexual offense evidence kit; or
30 (b) A law enforcement agency that collects other DNA
31 evidence associated with the sexual offense if a kit is not
32 collected under paragraph (a).
33 (3) A collected sexual offense evidence kit must be
34 retained in a secure, environmentally safe manner until the
35 prosecuting agency has approved its destruction.
36 (4) By January 1, 2017, the department and each laboratory
37 within the statewide criminal analysis laboratory system, in
38 coordination with the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence,
39 shall adopt and disseminate guidelines and procedures for the
40 collection, submission, and testing of DNA evidence that is
41 obtained in connection with an alleged sexual offense. The
42 timely submission and testing of sexual offense evidence kits is
43 a core public safety issue. Testing of sexual offense evidence
44 kits must be completed no later than 120 days after submission
45 to a member of the statewide criminal analysis laboratory
46 system.
47 (a) The guidelines and procedures must include the
48 requirements of this section, standards for how evidence is to
49 be packaged for submission, what evidence must be submitted to a
50 member of the statewide criminal analysis laboratory system, and
51 timeframes for when the evidence must be submitted, analyzed,
52 and compared to DNA databases.
53 (b) The testing requirements of this section are satisfied
54 when a member of the statewide criminal analysis laboratory
55 system tests the contents of the sexual offense evidence kit in
56 an attempt to identify the foreign DNA attributable to a
57 suspect. If a sexual offense evidence kit is not collected, the
58 laboratory may receive and examine other items directly related
59 to the crime scene, such as clothing or bedding or personal
60 items left behind by the suspect. If probative information is
61 obtained from the testing of the sexual offense evidence kit,
62 the examination of other evidence should be based on the
63 potential evidentiary value to the case and determined through
64 cooperation among the investigating agency, the laboratory, and
65 the prosecutor.
66 (5) This section does not create a cause of action or
67 create any rights for an individual to challenge the admission
68 of evidence or create a cause of action for damages or any other
69 relief for a violation of this section.
70 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2016.
71
72 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
73 And the title is amended as follows:
74 Delete everything before the enacting clause
75 and insert:
76 A bill to be entitled
77 An act relating to evidence collected in sexual
78 offense investigations; creating s. 943.326, F.S.;
79 requiring that a sexual offense evidence kit or other
80 DNA evidence be submitted to a member of the statewide
81 criminal analysis laboratory system within a specified
82 timeframe after specified occurrences; requiring a
83 medical provider or law enforcement agency to inform
84 an alleged victim of a sexual offense of certain
85 information relating to sexual offense evidence kits;
86 requiring the retention of specified evidence;
87 requiring adoption and dissemination of guidelines and
88 procedures by certain entities by a specified date;
89 requiring the testing of sexual offense evidence kits
90 within a specified timeframe after submission to a
91 member of the statewide criminal analysis laboratory;
92 providing requirements for such guidelines and
93 procedures; providing construction; providing an
94 effective date.