HB672: Sexual assault kit; regulate processing of.

Legislative Summary

An Act To Require Any Medical Facility Or Any Other Facility That Conducts A Medical Forensic Examination On An Alleged Rape Or Sexual Assault Victim And Prepares A Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kit To Immediately Contact The Appropriate Law Enforcement Agency To Collect The Kit; To Require The Law Enforcement Agency To Immediately Collect And Store The Kit In Compliance With Certain Standards; To Require The Law Enforcement Agency To Send The Kit To The Mississippi Forensics Laboratory Within A Certain Number Of Days; To Require The Forensics Laboratory To Process The Kit And Enter Dna Information Into The Appropriate Federal, State And Local Databases; To Create The Sexual Assault Evidence Kit Accountability Task Force; To Provide The Purpose Of The Task Force; To Amend Section 99-37-25, Mississippi Code Of 1972, To Clarify That The Victims Compensation Fund Shall Pay All Medical Costs Associated With Forensic Medical Examination And Preparation Of Sexual Assault Evidence Kits; To Amend Section 99-49-1, Mississippi Code Of 1972, To Revise The Procedures For Preservation Of Biological Evidence; To Amend Section 45-47-1, Mississippi Code Of 1972, To Require Dna Samples Of Those Arrested For The Commission Or Attempted Commission Of Rape Or Sexual Assault To Be Entered Into Federal, State And Local Databases For Comparison To Other Samples; To Amend Section 73-15-20, Mississippi Code Of 1972, To Provide A Limited Exemption For Nurse Practitioners With A Masters Degree Or Higher In Advanced Forensic Nursing; And For Related Purposes.