Vermont H 703: An act relating to creating a workforce development provider portal

Bill Text

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VT LEG #386320 v.1
H.703 1
Introduced by Representatives Galfetti of Barre Town and Casey of 2
Montpelier 3
Referred to Committee on 4
Date: 5
Subject: Crimes and criminal procedure; sexual assault survivors’ rights 6
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to expand the 7
Bill of Rights for Sexual Assault Survivors by guaranteeing that a survivor 8
may have a support person of the survivor’s choosing at all stages of any 9
medical forensic examination and criminal investigation; clarify that a survivor 10
may retain private counsel during any criminal investigation and subsequent 11
proceeding; allow the survivor to shower immediately after any medical 12
forensic evaluation; permit the survivor to request a law enforcement officer of 13
the same gender as the survivor for any interviews; and prohibit the use of any 14
evidence gathered during a medical forensic examination to prosecute the 15
survivor for a misdemeanor or any drug crime. 16
An act relating to expanding the Bill of Rights for Sexual Assault Survivors 17

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VT LEG #386320 v.1
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 1
Sec. 1. 13 V.S.A. § 3281 is amended to read: 2
§ 3281. SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS’ RIGHTS 3
(a) Short title. This section may be cited as the “Bill of Rights for Sexual 4
Assault Survivors.” 5
(b) Definition. As used in this section, “sexual assault survivor” means a 6
person who is a victim of an alleged sexual offense. 7
(c) Survivors’ rights. When a sexual assault survivor makes a verbal or 8
written report to a law enforcement officer, emergency department, sexual 9
assault nurse examiner, or victim’s advocate of an alleged sexual offense, the 10
recipient of the report shall provide written notification to the survivor that the 11
survivor has the following rights: 12
(1) The right to receive a medical forensic examination and any related 13
toxicology testing at no cost to the survivor in accordance with 32 V.S.A. 14
§ 1407, irrespective of whether the survivor reports to or cooperates with law 15
enforcement. If the survivor opts to have a medical forensic examination, the 16
survivor shall have the following additional rights: 17
(A) the right to have the medical forensic examination kit or its 18
probative contents delivered to a forensics laboratory within 72 hours of after 19
collection; 20

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(B) the right to have the sexual assault evidence collection kit or its 1
probative contents preserved without charge for the duration of the maximum 2
applicable statute of limitations; 3
(C) the right to not have any evidence collected pursuant to an 4
examination used to prosecute the survivor for any misdemeanor or a violation 5
of 18 V.S.A. chapter 84 or used as the basis for a warrant to search for any 6
evidence of any unrelated misdemeanor or violation of 18 V.S.A. chapter 84 7
that may have been committed by the survivor; 8
(D) the right to be informed in writing of all policies governing the 9
collection, storage, preservation, and disposal of a sexual assault evidence 10
collection kit; 11
(D)(E) the right to be informed of a DNA profile match on a kit 12
reported to law enforcement or on a confidential kit, on a toxicology report, or 13
on a medical record documenting a medical forensic examination, if the 14
disclosure would not impede or compromise an ongoing investigation; 15
(E)(F) the right to be informed of the status and location of the sexual 16
assault evidence collection kit; and 17
(F)(G) upon written request from the survivor, the right to: 18
(i) receive written notification from the appropriate official with 19
custody not later than 60 days before the date of the kit’s intended destruction 20
or disposal; and 21

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(ii) be granted further preservation of the kit or its probative 1
contents. 2
(2) The right to consult with a sexual assault advocate. 3
(3) The right to information concerning the availability of protective 4
orders and policies related to the enforcement of protective orders. 5
(4) The right to information about the availability of, and eligibility for, 6
victim compensation and restitution. 7
(5) The right to information about confidentiality. 8
(6) The right to have a support person of the survivor’s choosing present 9
during any medical forensic examination. If attendance of the support person 10
will require a significant delay in conducting the examination, the survivor 11
shall be advised of the potential consequences of a delay. 12
(7) The right to have a support person of the survivor’s choosing present 13
during any interview by a law enforcement officer, prosecutor, or defense 14
attorney. 15
(8) The right to take a shower immediately after the medical forensic 16
examination at no cost to the survivor unless shower facilities