2021 - 2022 LEGISLATURE

2021 Senate BILL 71

February 5, 2021 - Introduced by Senators Cowles, Agard, Darling, Wanggaard and Petrowski, cosponsored by Representatives Steffen, Macco, Thiesfeldt, Loudenbeck, Kerkman, Brooks, Gundrum, Schraa, Rozar, Subeck, Murphy, Spreitzer, Vining and Cabrera. Referred to Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety.

SB71,1,4 An Act to repeal 165.77 (7) and 175.405; to amend 165.845 (title), 165.845 (1) (a), 165.845 (1) (b) and 165.845 (2); and to create 165.775, 165.845 (1) (d) and 895.537 of the statutes; relating to: storage and processing of sexual assault kits and requiring the exercise of rule-making authority.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

Under current law, there is no statutory procedure for the collection and processing of sexual assault kits. This bill creates procedures for transmission, processing, and storage of sexual assault kits. Under the bill, a health care professional who collects a sexual assault kit must do one of the following: 1) if the victim wants to report the sexual assault to law enforcement, the health care professional must notify a law enforcement agency within 24 hours of collecting the kit; or 2) if the victim does not want to report the sexual assault to law enforcement, the health care professional must send the kit to the state crime laboratories within 72 hours for storage. Under the bill, if a law enforcement agency has received notification from a health care professional that a kit has been collected, the law enforcement agency must take possession of the kit within 72 hours, and must send the kit to the state crime laboratories for processing within 14 days. If the victim changes his or her mind about wanting to have his or her kit analyzed after it is given to a law enforcement agency but before the agency sends the kit to the state crime laboratories for processing, the agency must send the kit to the state crime laboratories for storage rather than for processing.

Under the bill, once the state crime laboratories takes possession of a sexual assault kit, it must do one of the following: 1) if it has received the kit of a person who has not consented to analysis, securely store the kit for a period of 10 years; or 2) if it has received the kit of a person who has consented to analysis, process the kit and then send it to a law enforcement agency to store the kit for a period of 50 years, or until the date of the expiration of the statute of limitations, or until the end of a term of imprisonment or probation of a person convicted in the sexual assault case, whichever is longer.

Under current law, local law enforcement agencies report certain crime statistics to the Department of Justice. The bill requires law enforcement agencies to provide additional data to DOJ regarding sexual assault kits collected and processed in Wisconsin in addition to the data currently being reported. The bill also requires DOJ to publish data on law enforcement agency compliance with DOJ reporting requirements.

For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

SB71,1 Section 1. 165.77 (7) of the statutes is repealed.

SB71,2 Section 2 . 165.775 of the statutes is created to read:

SB71,2,3 165.775 Sexual assault kits. (1) In this section:

SB71,2,4 (a) “Department” means the department of justice.

SB71,2,5 (b) “Health care professional" has the meaning given in s. 154.01 (3).

SB71,2,6 (c) “Sex offense” has the meaning given in s. 949.20 (7).

SB71,2,8 (d) “Sexual assault forensic examination” means an examination performed by a health care professional to gather evidence regarding a sex offense.

SB71,2,10 (e) “Sexual assault kit” means the evidence collected from a sexual assault forensic examination.

SB71,2,12 (f) “Wisconsin law enforcement agency" has the meaning given in s. 165.77 (1) (c).

SB71,3,3 (2) Whenever a health care professional conducts a sexual assault forensic examination and collects a sexual assault kit, the health care professional shall do one of the following:

SB71,3,6 (a) If the victim chooses to report the sexual assault to a Wisconsin law enforcement agency, or if reporting is required under s. 48.981 (2), notify a Wisconsin law enforcement agency within 24 hours after collecting the sexual assault kit.

SB71,3,11 (b) If the victim chooses not to report the sexual assault to a Wisconsin law enforcement agency, and reporting is not required under s. 48.981 (2), send the sexual assault kit to the state crime laboratories for storage in accordance with the procedures specified in the rules promulgated under sub. (6) within 72 hours after collecting the sexual assault kit.