1. Every hospital providing treatment to alleged victims of a sexual offense shall be responsible for: * (a) maintaining sexual offense evidence and the chain of custody as provided in subdivision two of this section; * NB Effective until May 9, 2027 * (a) Maintaining the following full-time, part-time, contracted, or on-call staff:

1. (1) One or more hospital sexual violence response coordinators who are designated to ensure that the hospital's sexual violence response is integrated within the hospital's clinical oversight and quality improvement structure, to ensure chain of custody is maintained, and to ensure availability and coordination of certified sexual assault forensic examiners;
2. (2) Certified sexual assault forensic examiners sufficient to meet hospital needs. Such individuals shall:
3. (i) be a registered professional nurse, certified nurse practitioner, licensed physician assistant or licensed physician acting within their lawful scope of practice and specially trained in forensic examination of sexual offense victims and the preservation of forensic evidence in such cases and qualified to provide such services, pursuant to regulations promulgated by the commissioner; and
4. (ii) have successfully completed a didactic and clinical training course and post course preceptorship as appropriate to scope of practice that aligns with guidance released by the commissioner. * NB Effective May 9, 2027 * (b) informing sexual offense victims of the availability of rape crisis and local victim assistance organizations, if any, in the geographic area served by the hospital, and contacting a rape crisis or local victim assistance organization to establish the coordination of non-medical services, including but not limited to transportation within the geographic area served by that organization, upon the conclusion of initial medical services, free of charge from the medical facility to sexual offense victims who request such coordination and services; * NB Effective until May 9, 2027 * (b) Ensuring that such sexual assault forensic examiners are on-call and available on a twenty-four hour a day basis every day of the year; * NB Effective May 9, 2027 * (c) offering and making available appropriate HIV post-exposure treatment therapies; including the full regimen of HIV post-exposure prophylaxis in cases where it has been determined, in accordance with guidelines issued by the commissioner, that a significant exposure to HIV has occurred, and informing the victim that payment assistance for such therapies and other crime related expenses may be available from the office of victim services pursuant to the provisions of article twenty-two of the executive law. With the consent of the victim of a sexual assault, the hospital emergency room department shall provide or arrange for an appointment for medical follow-up related to HIV post-exposure prophylaxis and other care as appropriate; and * NB Effective until May 9, 2027 * (c) Ensuring that such sexual assault forensic examiners maintain a current certification from the department, pursuant to regulations, in providing sexual assault examinations. The commissioner shall issue regulations consistent with subparagraph one of paragraph (b) of subdivision four-b of this section, establishing a process for individuals to apply for and receive certification upon meeting the required criteria, as well as a process for recertification. * NB Effective May 9, 2027 * (d) ensuring sexual assault survivors are not billed for sexual assault forensic exams and are notified orally and in writing of the option to decline to provide private health insurance information and have the office of victim services reimburse the hospital for the exam pursuant to subdivision thirteen of section six hundred thirty-one of the executive law. * NB Effective until May 9, 2027 * (d) maintaining sexual offense evidence and the chain of custody as provided in subdivision two of this section; * NB Effective May 9, 2027 * (e) informing sexual offense victims of the availability of rape crisis and local victim assistance organizations, if any, in the geographic area served by the hospital, and contacting a rape crisis or local victim assistance organization to establish the coordination of non-medical services, including but not limited to transportation within the geographic area served by that organization, upon the conclusion of initial medical services, free of charge from the medical facility to sexual offense victims who request such coordination and services; * NB Effective May 9, 2027 * (f) offering and making available appropriate HIV post-exposure treatment therapies; including the full regimen of HIV post-exposure prophylaxis in cases where it has been determined, in accordance with guidelines issued by the commissioner, that a significant exposure to HIV has occurred, and informing the victim that payment assistance for such therapies and other crime related expenses may be available from the office of victim services pursuant to the provisions of article twenty-two of the executive law. With the consent of the victim of a sexual assault, the hospital emergency room department shall provide or arrange for an appointment for medical follow-up related to HIV post-exposure prophylaxis and other care as appropriate; and * NB Effective May 9, 2027 * (g) ensuring sexual assault survivors are not billed for sexual assault forensic exams and are notified orally and in writing of the option to decline to provide private health insurance information and have the office of victim services reimburse the hospital for the exam pursuant to subdivision thirteen of section six hundred thirty-one of the executive law. * NB Effective May 9, 2027

4-b.

1. (a) The commissioner shall, with the consent of the directors of interested hospitals in the state and in consultation with the commissioner of the division of criminal justice services, designate hospitals in the state as the sites of a twenty-four hour sexual assault forensic examiner program. The hospital sites shall be designated in urban, suburban and rural areas to give as many state residents as possible ready access to the sexual assault forensic examiner program. The commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner of the division of criminal justice services, shall consider the following criteria when designating these sexual assault forensic examiner program sites:

   1. (1) the location of the hospital;
   2. (2) the hospital's capacity to provide on-site comprehensive medical services to victims of sexual offenses;
   3. (3) the capacity of the hospital site to coordinate services for victims of sexual offenses including medical treatment, rape crisis counseling, psychological support, law enforcement assistance and forensic evidence collection;
   4. (4) the hospital's capacity to provide access to the sexual assault forensic examiner site for disabled victims;
   5. (5) the hospital's existing services for victims of sexual offenses;
   6. (6) the capacity of the hospital site to collect uniform data and insure confidentiality of such data; and
   7. (7) the hospital's compliance with state and federally mandated standards of medical care.

2. (b) Each sexual assault forensic examiner program site designated pursuant to this subdivision shall comply with the requirements of subdivisions one, two and three of this section, and shall also provide treatment to the victim as follows:

   1. (1) The victim shall, absent exigent circumstances, be met by a sexual assault forensic examiner within sixty minutes of arriving at the hospital, who shall be a nurse practitioner, physician assistant, registered nurse or physician specially trained in forensic examination of sexual offense victims and the preservation of forensic evidence in such cases and certified as qualified to provide such services pursuant to regulations promulgated by the commissioner. Such program shall assure that such a specially-trained forensic examiner is on-call and available on a twenty-four hour a day basis every day of the year.
   2. (2) An examination of the victim shall be performed promptly by such forensic examiner in a private room designated for such examinations. An obstetrician/gynecologist or other appropriate medical doctor shall be readily available to the forensic examiner if there is a need for more specialized medical evaluation or treatment.
   3. (3) Promptly after the examination is completed, the victim shall be permitted to shower, be provided with a change of clothing, be informed that a rape crisis or victim assistance organization providing victim assistance to the geographic area served by that hospital is available to provide transportation within the geographic area served by that organization, upon the conclusion of initial medical services, free of charge from the medical facility, and receive follow-up information, counseling, medical treatment and referrals for same.
3. (c) Nothing in this subdivision shall affect the existence or continued existence of any program in this state through which a trained nurse practitioner, physician assistant, registered nurse or physician is providing appropriate forensic examinations and related services to survivors of sexual assault.

6.

1. (a) The department, in consultation with the division of criminal justice services, the office of victim services, hospitals, other health care providers and victim advocacy organizations, shall publish a sexual assault victim bill of rights for purposes of informing sexual offense victims of their rights under state law. Such bill of rights shall be prominently published on the department's website, in at least the ten most common languages spoken in this state, and distributed to hospitals as a document which shall be provided to every presenting sexual offense victim. The department may update the bill of rights as necessary to reflect changes in state law and more accurately explain the law. Such bill of rights shall be in plain, easy to understand language, and include the right of the victim to:

   1. (1) consult with a local rape crisis or local victim assistance organization, to have a representative of such organization accompany the victim through the sexual offense examination, to have such an organization be summoned by the medical facility, police agency, prosecutorial agency or other law enforcement agency before the commencement of the physical examination or interview, pursuant to this section, and to have such organization provide transportation within the geographic area served by that organization, free of charge from the medical facility to sexual offense victims who request such services upon discharge;
   2. (2) be offered and have made available at no cost appropriate post-exposure treatment therapies, including a seven day starter pack of HIV post-exposure prophylaxis in accordance with paragraph (c) of subdivision one of this section and subdivision thirteen of section six hundred thirty-one of the executive law;
   3. (3) a health care forensic examination at no cost and the right to be notified of the option to decline to provide private health insurance information and have the office of victim services reimburse the hospital for the examination under subdivision thirteen of section six hundred thirty-one of the executive law;
   4. (4) receive information relating to and the provision of emergency contraception in accordance with section twenty-eight hundred five-p of this article;
   5. (5) be offered contact information for the police agency, prosecutorial agency or other law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the sexual offense and be informed, upon request of the victim, of the date and location at which such sexual offense evidence kit was assessed for Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) eligibility and analyzed, whether a CODIS eligible profile was developed and whether or not a DNA match was identified, provided, however, that the police agency, prosecutorial agency or other law enforcement agency serving the jurisdiction may temporarily delay release of such DNA match information to the victim, prior to the arrest of a suspect alleged to have committed such offense, if such agency documents in writing and notifies the victim that release of such information would compromise the successful investigation of such sexual offense; * (6) be notified between thirty and ten days prior to the transfer of a sexual offense evidence kit from the hospital to another storage facility in accordance with paragraph (h) of subdivision two of this section, the right to have a sexual offense evidence kit maintained at an appropriate storage facility for twenty years from the date of collection, the right, if not previously consented to, to consent to release the evidence to law enforcement at any time during the twenty years from collection, and the right to be notified by such facility at least ninety days prior to the expiration of the twenty-year storage period in accordance with paragraph (k) of subdivision two of this section; and * NB Effective until December 2, 2027 * (6) be notified between thirty and ten days prior to the transfer of a sexual offense evidence kit from the hospital to another storage facility in accordance with paragraph (h) of subdivision two of this section, the right to have a sexual offense evidence kit maintained at an appropriate storage facility for twenty years from the date of collection or until the victim's fortieth birthday, whichever is later, the right, if not previously consented to, to consent to release the evidence to law enforcement at any time during the twenty years from collection, and the right to be notified by such facility at least ninety days prior to the expiration of the twenty-year storage period in accordance with paragraph (i) of subdivision two of this section; and * NB Effective December 2, 2027
   6. (7) be notified by the prosecutorial agency with jurisdiction of judicial proceedings relating to their case in accordance with article twenty-three of the executive law; and
   7. (8) decide whether or not the victim wishes to report the offense to law enforcement.
2. (b) Before a medical facility commences a physical examination of a sexual offense victim, or a police agency, prosecutorial agency or other law enforcement agency commences an interview of a sexual offense victim, the health care professional conducting the exam, police agency, prosecutorial agency or other law enforcement agency shall inform the victim of the victim's rights by providing a copy of this sexual assault victim bill of rights and offering to explain such rights.

7.

1. (a) The division of criminal justice services and the office of victim services, in consultation with the division of state police forensic investigations center and the department, shall convene a working group to:

   1. (1) address the creation of a coordinated tracking system for sexual offense evidence kits;
   2. (2) assess and make recommendations related to the forensic testing of sexual offense evidence collection kits when a survivor declines to report to law enforcement; and
   3. (3) make recommendations to strengthen existing sexual offense evidence collection and testing for all sexual offense evidence kits.
2. (b) The working group shall report its findings and recommendations to the governor, the temporary president of the senate, and the speaker of the assembly on or before November thirtieth, two thousand twenty-six. * 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 assault or other sex offense.
3. (b) The division of criminal justice services shall promulgate rules and guidelines to ensure that sexual assault evidence collection kits are trackable on a statewide electronic tracking system developed pursuant to this subdivision, and that survivors are given notice of how they may track their own reported evidence collection kit. 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 hospital within seven days of being notified by a hospital that a reported evidence collection kit has been collected. Any hospital, law enforcement 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 established by the division of criminal justice services pursuant to this paragraph.

4. (c) The statewide electronic tracking system shall:

   1. (1) Track the location and status of each reported evidence collection kit from collection to final disposition;
   2. (2) Allow a hospital, law enforcement agency, accredited crime laboratory, prosecutor, employees of the long-term sexual offense evidence storage facility, or any other entity providing a chain of custody for a reported evidence collection kit, to update and track the status and location of the reported evidence collection kits;
   3. (3) Allow a survivor to anonymously track or receive updates regarding the status and location of such survivor's reported evidence collection kit; and
   4. (4) Incorporate any relevant findings from the working group referenced in subdivision seven of this section.
5. (d) No later than December first, two thousand twenty-seven, any hospital, 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 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.
6. (e) Records entered into the tracking system are confidential. Records relating to a reported evidence collection kit shall be accessed only by the survivor for whom the reported evidence collection kit was completed.
7. (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.

8. (g) For purposes of this section:

   1. (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;
   2. (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. (3) "reported evidence collection kit" means a sexual assault evidence kit in which the survivor has consented to evidence collection and forensic testing; and
   4. (4) "unreported evidence collection kit" means a sexual offense evidence collection kit for which the survivor has not consented or has withdrawn consent to either forensic testing or reporting to law enforcement. * NB Effective until June 19, 2026 * 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 assault or other sex offense.
   5. (b) The division of criminal justice services shall promulgate rules and guidelines to ensure that sexual offense evidence collection kits are trackable on a statewide electronic tracking system developed pursuant to this subdivision, and that survivors are given notice of how they may track their own reported evidence collection kit. Any law enforcement 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 established by the division of criminal justice services pursuant to this paragraph.

   6. (c) The statewide electronic tracking system shall:

      1. (1) Track the location and status of each reported evidence collection kit from collection to final disposition;
      2. (2) Allow a hospital, law enforcement agency, accredited crime laboratory, prosecutor, employees of the long-term sexual offense evidence storage facility, or any other entity providing a chain of custody for a reported evidence collection kit, to update and track the status and location of the reported evidence collection kits;
      3. (3) Allow a survivor to anonymously track or receive updates regarding the status and location of such survivor's reported evidence collection kit; and
      4. (4) Incorporate any relevant findings from the working group referenced in subdivision seven of this section.
   7. (d) No later than December first, two thousand twenty-seven, any hospital, 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 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.
   8. (e) Records entered into the tracking system are confidential. Records relating to a reported evidence collection kit shall be accessed only by the survivor for whom the reported evidence collection kit was completed.
   9. (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.

   10. (g) For purposes of this section:

       1. (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;
       2. (2) "survivor" shall mean an individual who is the victim of a sexual offense from whom a human biological specimen or specimens were collected by a healthcare provider during a forensic medical examination;
       3. (3) "reported evidence collection kit" means a sexual offense evidence kit in which the survivor has consented to evidence collection and forensic testing; and
       4. (4) "unreported evidence collection kit" means a sexual offense evidence collection kit for which the survivor has not consented to or withdraws their consent to release to law enforcement. * NB Effective June 19, 2026