House health committee requires ER staff training on sexual‑assault response, directs study of SANE coverage

House lawmakers on the House Standing Committee on Health Services on Feb. 20 approved House Bill 219, requiring emergency services to provide mandatory training to emergency medical staff on sexual‑assault emergency response, and passed House Concurrent Resolution 20 directing the Legislative Research Commission to study where trained sexual‑assault nurse examiners (SANEs) are absent and why.

The bill requires emergency departments to make training available to emergency medical staff; the curriculum is to be developed in collaboration with members of the SANE response team advisory committee. Representative Rebecca Raymer, the bill sponsor, told the committee the measure is an interim “fix” to improve immediate care and evidence handling while lawmakers gather data to craft longer‑term solutions.

The measure matters because witnesses and committee…