Bill > S1134

This bill aims to improve the collection and handling of sexual assault evidence collection kits by establishing statewide policies for transporting these kits directly from hospitals to testing facilities, and by creating a dedicated Massachusetts Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Trust Fund to support the SANE program, which will be funded through various revenue sources including grants and fees. The bill also extends the retention period for evidence collected from sexual assault victims to match the applicable statute of limitations, defines "acute care hospital" and "Program Protocols" related to sexual assault victim care, and mandates that the Department of Public Health examine regional needs for SANE services and expand them into underserved areas, ensuring adequate SANE availability across the Commonwealth. Furthermore, acute care hospitals will be required to make program protocols available to medical professionals involved in evidence collection, teaching hospitals and academic medical centers will be designated as SANE sites, and other acute care hospitals will need to provide bi-annual training to their emergency department personnel on these protocols, with fees for SANE designation and training programs contributing to the SANE Trust Fund. Finally, the bill directs the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security to conduct a comprehensive study on various aspects of sexual assault evidence collection, including tracking systems and transportation methods, and to develop a pilot program for rapid DNA services.