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Survivor testimony pushes bill to require hospitals, police to give written notice of assault survivors’ rights
Summary
After a witness described being denied a forensic test, Representative Ellen Reed and other survivors supported HB 16‑33 to require written, standardized notice to sexual‑assault survivors of existing statutory rights (free exams, kit tracking, preservation); medical staff and DOJ advised careful drafting to protect evidence procedures and considered operational costs.
Representative Ellen Reed, who described a personal experience of being denied a timely forensic assessment, urged the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee to require affirmative written notice to sexual‑assault survivors of existing legal protections. “We have a survivor’s bill of rights in statute, but the right means nothing if the person who needs it doesn’t know it exists,” Reed told the committee (Representative Ellen Reed, SEG 4330–4350).
HB 16‑33 would direct the Department of Justice to produce a standardized “palm card” summarizing survivors’ statutory rights and require health care providers, law enforcement, and…
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