H.B. No. 1590
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to statewide policies and practices, personnel training,
  evidence collection and preservation, and data collection and
  analysis regarding the prevention, investigation, and prosecution
  of sexual assault and other sex offenses.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 420.012, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 420.012.  CONSULTATIONS. In implementing this chapter,
  the attorney general shall consult with:
               (1)  state sexual assault coalitions;
               (2)  state agencies, task forces, and councils that
  have duties relating to the prevention, investigation, or
  prosecution of sexual assault or other sex offenses or services
  provided to survivors;
               (3)  forensic science experts; and
               (4)  individuals [persons] and organizations having
  knowledge and experience relating to the issues of sexual assault
  and other sex offenses.
         SECTION 2.  Section 420.031(c), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (c)  In developing the evidence collection kit and protocol,
  the attorney general shall consult with the individuals and
  organizations listed in Section 420.012 [having knowledge and
  experience in the issues of sexual assault and other sex offenses].
         SECTION 3.  Subchapter A, Chapter 772, Government Code, is
  amended by adding Section 772.0064 to read as follows:
         Sec. 772.0064.  SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS' TASK FORCE. (a)  
  In this section:
               (1)  "Sexual assault," "sexual assault nurse
  examiner," and "survivor" have the meanings assigned by Section
  420.003.
               (2)  "Task force" means the Sexual Assault Survivors' 
  Task Force.
         (b)  The governor shall establish the Sexual Assault
  Survivors' Task Force within the criminal justice division
  established under Section 772.006.
         (c)  The task force shall include a steering committee
  composed of the following members:
               (1)  the governor or the governor's designee;
               (2)  the president of the state sexual assault
  coalition, as defined by Section 420.003, or the president's
  designee; and
               (3)  the president of the statewide organization
  described by Section 264.409, Family Code, or the president's
  designee.
         (d)  The task force is composed of the following members:
               (1)  the governor or the governor's designee;
               (2)  a representative of each state agency that has
  duties relating to the prevention, investigation, or prosecution of
  sexual assault or other sex offenses or provides services to
  survivors, including:
                     (A)  the office of the attorney general; and
                     (B)  the Health and Human Services Commission;
               (3)  the executive director of the Texas Commission on
  Law Enforcement or the executive director's designee;
               (4)  the presiding officer of the Texas Forensic
  Science Commission or the presiding officer's designee;
               (5)  the division director of the law enforcement
  support division of the Texas Department of Public Safety with
  authority over the Crime Laboratory Service or the division
  director's designee;
               (6)  the president of the Texas Association of Crime
  Laboratory Directors or the president's designee;
               (7)  the president of the Texas District and County
  Attorney's Association or the president's designee;
               (8)  the president of the Texas Society of Pathologists
  or the president's designee;
               (9)  the president of the International Association of
  Forensic Nurses Texas Chapter or the president's designee;
               (10)  the president of the statewide organization
  described by Section 264.409, Family Code, or the president's
  designee;
               (11)  the president of the state sexual assault
  coalition, as defined by Section 420.003, or the president's
  designee;
               (12)  a representative from a law enforcement agency
  appointed by the steering committee described by Subsection (c); 
               (13)  a sexual assault nurse examiner appointed by the
  steering committee described by Subsection (c) to represent the
  interests of health care facilities that perform sexual assault
  forensic exams; and
               (14)  other members considered appropriate by the
  steering committee described by Subsection (c).
 
         (e)  An appointed member serves at the pleasure of the
  appointing official.
         (f)  The governor is the presiding officer of the task force.
         (g)  The task force shall meet at the call of the governor.
         (h)  The steering committee shall:
               (1)  create within the task force:
                     (A)  a working group focusing on survivors who are
  children; and
                     (B)  a working group focusing on survivors who are
  adults;
               (2)  ensure that the task force identifies systemic
  issues and solutions pertaining to survivors of all ages;
               (3)  ensure that the task force does not unnecessarily
  duplicate existing standards, information, and protocol in
  preventing, investigating, prosecuting, and responding to sexual
  assault and other sex offenses; and
               (4)  review and approve all task force reports,
  recommendations, resources, protocols, advice, and other
  information before release.
         (i)  The task force shall:
               (1)  develop policy recommendations to allow the state
  to:
                     (A)  effectively coordinate funding for services
  to child and adult survivors; and
                     (B)  better prevent, investigate, and prosecute
  incidents of sexual assault and other sex offenses;
               (2)  facilitate communication and cooperation between
  state agencies that have duties relating to the prevention,
  investigation, or prosecution of sexual assault or other sex
  offenses or services provided to survivors in order to identify and
  coordinate state resources available for assisting survivors;
               (3)  collect, analyze, and make publicly available
  information, organized by region, regarding the prevention,
  investigation, and prosecution of sexual assault and other sex
  offenses and services provided to survivors, including a list of
  SAFE-ready facilities designated under Section 323.0015, Health
  and Safety Code;
               (4)  make and periodically update recommendations
  regarding the collection, preservation, tracking, analysis, and
  destruction of evidence in cases of sexual assault or other sex
  offenses, including recommendations:
                     (A)  to the attorney general regarding:
                           (i)  evidence collection kits for use in the
  collection and preservation of evidence of sexual assault or other
  sex offenses;
                           (ii)  protocols for the collection and
  preservation of evidence of sexual assault or other sex offenses;
                           (iii)  the curriculum for training programs
  on collecting and preserving evidence of sexual assault and other
  sex offenses; and
                           (iv)  the requirements for certification of
  sexual assault nurse examiners; and
                     (B)  to other appropriate individuals or
  organizations, regarding:
                           (i)  the procedures for obtaining patient
  authorization for forensic medical examinations of child and adult
  survivors under Articles 56.06 and 56.065, Code of Criminal
  Procedure;
                           (ii)  the requirements for maintaining an
  appropriate evidentiary chain of custody;
                           (iii)  the identification and reporting of
  untested evidence throughout the state; and
                           (iv)  standards for the submission of
  evidence to forensic laboratories for analysis, including
  procedures for submitting evidence in cases for which no evidence
  has been previously submitted or tested;
               (5)  advise and provide resources to the Texas
  Commission on Law Enforcement and other law enforcement
  organizations to improve law enforcement officer training related
  to the investigation and documentation of cases involving sexual
  assault and other sex offenses, with a focus on the interactions
  between law enforcement officers and survivors;
               (6)  provide to law enforcement agencies, prosecutors,
  and judges with jurisdiction over sexual assault or other sex
  offense cases information and resources to maximize effective and
  empathetic investigation, prosecution, and hearings, including
  information and resources:
                     (A)  regarding trauma-informed practices and the
  dynamics and effects of sexual assault and other sex offenses on
  child and adult survivors;
                     (B)  intended to improve the understanding of and
  the response to sexual assault or other sex offenses;
                     (C)  regarding best practices in the
  investigation and prosecution of sexual assault or other sex
  offenses; and
                     (D)  for judges regarding common issues in the
  criminal trials of sexual assault and other sex offenses;
               (7)  biennially contract for a survey of the resources
  provided to survivors by nonprofit organizations, health care
  facilities, institutions of higher education, sexual assault
  response teams, and other governmental entities in each region of
  the state;
               (8)  make recommendations as necessary to improve the
  collecting and reporting of data on the investigation and
  prosecution of sexual assault and other sex offenses; and
               (9)  develop a statewide standard for best practices in
  the funding and provision of services to survivors by nonprofit
  organizations, health care facilities, institutions of higher
  education, sexual assault response teams, and other governmental
  entities.
         (j)  Not later than November 1 of each even-numbered year,
  the task force shall analyze the data from the survey performed
  under Subsection (i), prepare a report, or contract with a private
  entity for the preparation of a report, and submit to the
  legislature the report, which must include:
               (1)  a description of the resources provided to child
  and adult survivors by nonprofit organizations, health care
  facilities, institutions of higher education, sexual assault
  response teams, and governmental entities in each region of the
  state;
               (2)  a description of the differences between the
  resources provided to both child and adult survivors and the
  statewide standard, comparable by region and by year;
               (3)  recommendations on measures the state and each
  region could take to better comply with the statewide standard;
               (4)  a description of potential sources and mechanisms
  of funding available to implement the recommendations; and
               (5)  recommendations for accomplishing policy goals.
         (k)  To the extent possible, all recommendations, standards,
  and resource information provided by the task force must be
  evidence-based and consistent with standards of practice and care
  in this state and throughout the country.
         (l)  The task force shall use any available federal or state
  funding for the purposes of this section.
         (m)  This section expires September 1, 2023.
         SECTION 4.  Section 1701.253, Occupations Code, is amended
  by adding Subsections (b-1) and (b-2) to read as follows:
         (b-1)  The commission shall consult with the Sexual Assault
  Survivors' Task Force established under Section 772.0064,
  Government Code, regarding minimum curriculum requirements for
  training in the investigation and documentation of cases that
  involve sexual assault or other sex offenses.
         (b-2)  This subsection and Subsection (b-1) expire September
  1, 2023.
         SECTION 5.  The governor is required to implement a
  provision of this Act only if the legislature appropriates money
  specifically for that purpose. If the legislature does not
  appropriate money specifically for that purpose, the governor  may,
  but is not required to, implement a provision of this Act using
  other appropriations available for that purpose.
         SECTION 6.  As soon as practicable after the effective date
  of this Act, the governor shall establish the Sexual Assault
  Survivors' Task Force and the steering committee of that task force
  shall appoint members as required by Section 772.0064, Government
  Code, as added by this Act.
         SECTION 7.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 1590 was passed by the House on May 7,
  2019, by the following vote:  Yeas 146, Nays 0, 1 present, not
  voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
  No. 1590 on May 23, 2019, by the following vote:  Yeas 140, Nays 0,
  1 present, not voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 1590 was passed by the Senate, with
  amendments, on May 19, 2019, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays
  0.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate   
  APPROVED: __________________
                  Date       
   
           __________________
                Governor