NY State Senate Bill 2025-S5225

Senate Bill S5225

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Relates to the collection and reporting of sexual offense evidence on the statewide electronic tracking system

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Feb 19, 2025	referred to health

2025-S5225 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A1970
Current Committee:: Senate Health
Law Section:: Public Health Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §2805-i, Pub Health L
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: A10317

2025-S5225 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires the collection and reporting of sexual offense evidence on the statewide electronic tracking system within three days of permission to release the evidence by the alleged sexual offense victim; relates to additional rules and guidelines.

2025-S5225 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S5225

SPONSOR: GOUNARDES
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to collecting and
reporting sexual offense evidence on the statewide electronic tracking
system

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill would amend the Public Health Law to include hospitals within
the rape kit tracking process and prescribe a timeframe by which law
enforcement officials must collect a rape kit from a hospital for deliv-
ery to a laboratory.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 would amend Public Health Law 2805-1(2)(j) to require law
enforcement to retrieve a rape kit stored by the Office of Victim
Service (OVS), at the request of an alleged sexual assault victim, for
reporting in the statewide electronic tracking system. Law enforcement

must retrieve the kit within three days of an alleged sexual assault
victim giving permission to release the rape kit.

Section 2 would amend Public Health Law 2805-i(8) to: (1) specify that
unreported kits released by OVS to law enforcement must be designated as
reported kits subject to tracking requirements; (2) include hospitals
within the tracking system requirements and require that they notify law
enforcement within 48 hours of collection; and (3) require that law
enforcement retrieve a rape kit from a hospital within three days of
notification by the hospital.

Section 2 would also define "reported evidence collection kits" and
"unreported evidence collection kits" for purposes of establishing a
process whereby kits within the custody of OVS are retrieved by law
enforcement upon consent by an alleged sexual assault victim.

Section 3 establishes the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In 2023, New York State established a rape kit tracking system to follow
the path of a reported kit from law enforcement possession to lab
submission, and through testing. However, existing law does not specif-
ically include hospitals within the rape kit tracking process, nor does
it establish a protocol or timeframe in which hospitals must alert law
enforcement once a rape kit is prepared for collection for retrieval and
delivery to a laboratory for testing.

Including a specific protocol for transfer of a rape kit from hospitals
to law enforcement is vital to preserve the integrity of the evidence
collected during a sexual assault examination.  Establishing clear
responsibilities and timelines for all parties involved, including
establishing a standard protocol and timeframe for law enforcement to
retrieve and deliver the kit to a laboratory, prevents kits from getting
mishandled or misplaced.


Incorporating hospitals into the statewide rape kit tracking system
would enable a comprehensive oversight of the rape kit from its incep-
tion, ensuring that no kits are missed or unrecorded. In addition,
including hospitals helps maintain the continuity and integrity of the
evidence, which is crucial for legal proceedings.

Most importantly, survivors deserve to know the status and location of
their kit throughout its entire process, not just in the later stages.
Notably, of the 40 states that have statutorily mandated rape kit track-
ing systems, New York is the only one where hospitals do not partic-
ipate.

In addition, existing law does not specify a process whereby a sexual
assault survivor whose kit is stored at an OVS storage facility decides.
to report the crime. In these instances, it is imperative that the State
establish clear guidelines for how these special cases are to be handled
to avoid a kit getting lost in this transition and becoming backlogged.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

A.10317 of 2024: referred to health

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

TBD

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately, provided, however, that the
addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary
for the implementation of this act shall be completed within three
months of such effective date.

2025-S5225 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5225
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 19, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sen. GOUNARDES -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the public health law, in relation to collecting and
   reporting sexual offense evidence on the statewide electronic tracking
   system

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Paragraph  (j)  of subdivision 2 of section 2805-i of the
 public health law, as amended by section 1 of part II of chapter  56  of
 the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
   (j)  Notwithstanding  any  other  provision  in  this  section, sexual
 offense evidence shall  not  continue  to  be  stored  where:  (i)  such
 evidence  is not privileged and law enforcement requests its release, in
 which case the [custodian(s)] CUSTODIAN OR CUSTODIANS shall comply  with
 such  request;  or  (ii)  such evidence is privileged and either (A) the
 alleged sexual offense victim gives permission to release  the  evidence
 to  law  enforcement,  UPON  WHICH  LAW  ENFORCEMENT  MUST  RETRIEVE THE
 EVIDENCE WITHIN THREE DAYS OF SUCH PERMISSION AND REPORT  SUCH  EVIDENCE
 IN  THE  STATEWIDE  ELECTRONIC  TRACKING  SYSTEM PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION
 EIGHT OF THIS SECTION, or (B) the alleged sexual offense victim signs  a
 statement  directing  the  [custodian(s)]  CUSTODIAN  OR  CUSTODIANS  to
 dispose of the evidence, in which case the sexual offense evidence  will
 be discarded in compliance with state and local health codes.
   §  2.  Subdivision  8  of  section 2805-i of the public health law, as
 amended by chapter 31 of the  laws  of  2023,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   8.  (a) The division of criminal justice services in consultation with
 the department, the office of victim services,  the  division  of  state
 police,  and  the  New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault shall
 develop a statewide electronic tracking  system  for  REPORTED  evidence
 collection  kits  used  to  collect  and  preserve  evidence of a sexual
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD04793-01-5

 S. 5225                             2
 
 assault or other sex offense [that are submitted to the custody  of  law
 enforcement].  Such  statewide  electronic  tracking  system  shall  not
 include UNREPORTED evidence collection kits [not in the custody  of  law
 enforcement], PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT ANY UNREPORTED EVIDENCE COLLECTION
 KITS RELEASED BY THE OFFICE OF VICTIM SERVICES TO LAW ENFORCEMENT PURSU-
 ANT TO CLAUSE (A) OF SUBPARAGRAPH (II) OF PARAGRAPH J OF SUBDIVISION TWO
 OF THIS SECTION SHALL BE DESIGNATED AS REPORTED EVIDENCE COLLECTION KITS
 SUBJECT TO THE TRACKING REQUIREMENTS SET FORTH IN THIS SUBDIVISION.
   (b)  The  division of criminal justice services shall promulgate rules
 and guidelines to ensure that sexual assault  evidence  collection  kits
 [that  are submitted to the custody of law enforcement] are trackable on
 a statewide electronic tracking system developed pursuant to this subdi-
 vision, and that survivors are given notice of how they may track  their
 own [sexual assault] REPORTED evidence collection kit [after it has been
 submitted to the custody of law enforcement].  SUCH RULES AND GUIDELINES
 SHALL  REQUIRE  THAT  (I)  HOSPITALS COLLECTING EVIDENCE COLLECTION KITS
 RECORD THE COLLECTION OF ANY REPORTED EVIDENCE COLLECTION  KITS  IN  THE
 ELECTRONIC  TRACKING  SYSTEM  AND NOTIFY THE APPROPRIATE LAW ENFORCEMENT
 AGENCY WITHIN  FORTY-EIGHT  HOURS  OF  SUCH  COLLECTION,  AND  (II)  LAW
 ENFORCEMENT  RETRIEVE ANY REPORTED EVIDENCE COLLECTION KIT FROM A HOSPI-
 TAL WITHIN THREE DAYS OF BEING NOTIFIED BY A HOSPITAL  THAT  A  REPORTED
 EVIDENCE  COLLECTION  KIT HAS BEEN COLLECTED. Any HOSPITAL, law enforce-
 ment agency, forensic laboratory, or prosecutor that has  taken  custody
 of  an  evidence  collection kit used for a forensic medical examination
 shall comply with the established protocols, rules and guidelines estab-
 lished by the division of criminal justice  services  pursuant  to  this
 paragraph.
   (c) The statewide electronic tracking system shall:
   (1) Track the location and status of each REPORTED evidence collection
 kit  [after  such  kit has been submitted to the custody of law enforce-
 ment] FROM COLLECTION TO FINAL DISPOSITION;
   (2) Allow a HOSPITAL, law enforcement agency, accredited crime labora-
 tory, prosecutor, employees of the  long-term  sexual  offense  evidence
 storage  facility,  or any other entity providing a chain of custody for
 [an] A REPORTED evidence collection kit, to update and track the  status
 and  location  of  the REPORTED EVIDENCE COLLECTION kits [that have been
 submitted to the custody of law enforcement]; and
   (3) Allow a survivor to anonymously track or receive updates regarding
 the status and location of such survivor's REPORTED evidence  collection
 kit [that has been submitted to the custody of law enforcement].
   (d)  No later than January first, two thousand twenty-five, any HOSPI-
 TAL, law enforcement agency, accredited  crime  laboratory,  prosecutor,
 employee  of  the long-term sexual offense evidence storage facility, or
 any other entity providing a  chain  of  custody  for  [an]  A  REPORTED
 evidence  collection  kit to update and track the status and location of
 such kit, shall participate in the tracking system and comply  with  all
 established  protocols,  rules  and  guidelines.  A participating entity
 shall be permitted to access the entity's tracking  information  through
 the statewide electronic tracking system.
   (e) Records entered into the tracking system are confidential. Records
 relating  to  [an]  A REPORTED evidence collection kit shall be accessed
 only by the survivor for whom the REPORTED evidence collection  kit  was
 completed.
   (f)  The  provisions  of  this subdivision shall apply to all REPORTED
 evidence collection kits submitted prior to, on, or after the  effective
 date of this subdivision.
 S. 5225                             3
 
   (g) For purposes of this section:
   (1)  "evidence  collection kit" shall mean a human biological specimen
 or specimens collected  by  a  healthcare  provider  during  a  forensic
 medical  examination  from  the  victim of a sexual assault or other sex
 offense; [and]
   (2) "survivor" shall mean an individual who is the victim of a  sexual
 offense  from whom a human biological specimen or specimens collected by
 a healthcare provider during a forensic medical examination[.];
   (3) "REPORTED EVIDENCE COLLECTION KIT" MEANS A SEXUAL ASSAULT EVIDENCE
 KIT IN WHICH THE SURVIVOR  HAS  CONSENTED  TO  EVIDENCE  COLLECTION  AND
 REPORTING  THE  SEXUAL  ASSAULT OR OTHER SEX OFFENSE TO LAW ENFORCEMENT;
 AND
   (4) "UNREPORTED EVIDENCE COLLECTION  KIT"  MEANS  EVIDENCE  COLLECTION
 KITS  CONTROLLED BY THE OFFICE OF VICTIMS SERVICES PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH
 (D) OF SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS SECTION.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.   Effective  immediately,
 the  addition,  amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation neces-
 sary for the implementation of  this  act  on  its  effective  date  are
 authorized  to  be made and completed on or before three months of  such
 effective date.

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