(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the commissioners court of each county shall establish an adult sexual assault response team that includes the following members appointed by the commissioners court:
- (1) the chief administrator, or the chief administrator's designee, of a sexual assault program that provides services for the county;
- (2) a prosecutor with jurisdiction in the county over cases involving sexual assault committed against adults;
- (3) the chief, or the chief's designee, of the municipal police department with the largest population in the county, provided a municipality in the county has a municipal police department;
- (4) the sheriff or the sheriff's designee;
(5) either:
- (A) a sexual assault nurse examiner or forensic examiner from a facility that conducts sexual assault forensic exams for the county; or
- (B) a representative from the largest health care provider operating in the county if the county does not have a professional described by Paragraph (A);
- (6) a behavioral health services provider operating in the county or, if the county does not have a behavioral health services provider, a representative from the county health department; and
- (7) other persons the presiding officer of the response team considers necessary for the operation of the response team or as recommended by the response team.
- (b) Two or more counties, each with a population of 250,000 or less, within a contiguous area may partner to form a multicounty response team.
Added by Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 568 (S.B. 476), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2021.