§624.1. Submission of sexual assault collection kits

            A. The office of state police shall create and operate a statewide sexual assault collection kit tracking system. The office of state police may contract with public or private entities, including but not limited to private software and technology providers, for the creation and maintenance of the system.

            B. The statewide sexual assault collection kit tracking system shall:

            (1) Track the location status of the kits throughout the criminal justice process, including the initial collection performed at medical facilities, receipt and storage at law enforcement agencies, receipt and analysis at forensic laboratories, and storage or destruction after completion of analysis.

            (2) Designate sexual assault collection kits as unreported sexual assault collection kits or reported sexual assault collection kits.

            (3) Indicate whether a sexual assault collection kit contains biological materials collected for the purpose of forensic toxicological analysis.

            (4) Allow medical facilities performing sexual assault forensic examinations, law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, the Louisiana State Police Crime Laboratory, all other forensic crime laboratories in the state, and other entities having custody of sexual assault collection kits to update and track the status and location of sexual assault collection kits.

            (5) Allow victims of sexual assault to anonymously track or receive updates regarding the status of their sexual assault collection kits.

            (6) Use electronic technology allowing continuous access.

            C. The office of state police may phase in initial participation according to region or volume of sexual assault collection kits.

            D. The office of state police may use a phased implementation process in order to launch the system and facilitate entry and use of the system for required participants. The office of state police may phase initial participation according to the region or volume. All entities, including law enforcement, district attorney offices, and healthcare providers having custody of sexual assault collection kits, shall provide all required information to the tracking system and fully participate in the system. The office of state police shall submit a report on the current status and plan for launching the system, including the plan for phased implementation, to the Louisiana Sexual Assault Oversight Commission, the Senate Committee on Judiciary B, the House Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice, and the governor no later than January 1, 2024.

            E. The office of state police shall submit an annual report on the statewide sexual assault collection kit tracking system to the Louisiana Sexual Assault Oversight Commission, the Senate Committee on Judiciary B, the House Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice, and the governor no later than July thirty-first of each year. The office of state police may make public the current report on its website. The report shall include the following:

            (1) The total number of sexual assault collection kits in the system statewide and by jurisdiction.

            (2) The total and semiannual number of sexual assault collection kits where forensic analysis has been completed statewide and by jurisdiction.

            (3) The number of sexual assault collection kits added to the system in the reporting period statewide and by jurisdiction.

            (4) The total and semiannual number of sexual assault collection kits where forensic analysis has been requested but not completed, statewide and by jurisdiction.

            (5) The average and median length of time for sexual assault collection kits to be submitted for forensic analysis after being added to the system, including separate sets of data for all sexual assault collection kits in the system statewide and by jurisdiction.

            (6) The average and median length of time for sexual assault collection kits added to the system in the reporting period statewide and by jurisdiction.

            (7) The total and semiannual number of sexual assault collection kits destroyed or removed from the system statewide and by jurisdiction.

            (8) The total number of sexual assault collection kits, statewide and by jurisdiction, where forensic analysis has not been completed and six months or more have passed since those sexual assault collection kits were added to the system.

            (9) The total number of sexual assault collection kits, statewide and by jurisdiction, where forensic analysis has not been completed and one year or more has passed since those sexual assault collection kits were added to the system.

            F. For the purpose of the reports required by Subsection E of this Section, a sexual assault collection kit shall be assigned to the jurisdiction associated with the law enforcement agency anticipated to receive the sexual assault collection kit or otherwise have custody of the sexual assault collection kit.

            G. Any public agency or entity, including its officials or employees, and any hospital and its employees providing services to victims of sexual assault, shall not be held civilly liable for damages arising from any release of information or the failure to release information related to the statewide sexual assault collection kit tracking system, provided that the release was not grossly negligent.

            H. The office of state police shall adopt rules as necessary to implement this Section.

            I. For the purposes of this Section, the following terms have the following meanings:

            (1) "Reported sexual assault collection kit" means a sexual assault collection kit collected from a survivor who has reported the crime to law enforcement, which indicates the survivor has requested that the case proceed as a criminal investigation and potential prosecution of the suspect.

            (2) "Sexual assault collection kit" means the human biological specimens and associated evidence collected by a healthcare provider during a forensic medical examination for the purpose of documenting, preserving, and analyzing evidence of a sexual assault, and means the standardized sexual assault collection kit issued by the Louisiana State Police.

            (3) "Unreported sexual assault collection kit" means a sexual assault collection kit collected from a survivor who declines to report the crime to law enforcement at the time of the examination, which indicates the survivor has requested that no criminal investigation or prosecution be initiated, while retaining the right to report the crime and convert the kit to a reported status at any time within the twenty-year retention period.

            Acts 2023, No. 193, §1; Acts 2026, No. 353, §1; Acts 2026, No. 724, §1, eff. June 3, 2026.