Past Task Force Legislation
2005 | 2003
2005 Legislation
In the 2005 Session, the Attorney General’s Sexual Assault Task Force had four bills it requested through the Department of Justice and one it co-requested with the Alliance to End Violence Against Women (SB227). All five bills related to adolescent, adult and child victims of crime and increasing, enhancing or refining the language, response, services and/or protections for sexual assault victims and all crime victims.
The Legislative and Public Policy Committee of the Task Force is responsible for monitoring and sharing information on bills of interest to the Task Force. A report on the 2005 legislative session is available as a pdf chart at the following link:
Report on 2005 Legislative Session (pdf chart)
SB198: Personal Representative Bill - passed
SB198A passed the Senate in April 2005, passed the House on June 23, 2005, and was signed into law by Governor Ted Kulongoski on July 15, 2005. It takes effect on January 1, 2006.
Allows adult victims of person crimes to choose to have some one (advocate, family member, friend) accompany them to and through all appropriate and specified legal and medical proceedings.
A bill summary for SB 198 may be accessed as a pdf at the following link: SB 198 General Bill Summary
A bill summary specific to Law Enforcement and Prosecutors may be accessed as a pdf at the following link: SB 198 Bill Summary for Law Enforcement and Prosecutors
SB199: Increasing Victim Privacy - passed
SB199A passed the Senate in May 2005, passed the House on June 30, 2005, and was signed into law by Governor Ted Kulongoski on July 15, 2005. It takes effect on January 1, 2006.
This bill creates and protects a victims' right of privacy relating to sexually explicit matters in sexual assault cases, and some other cases. Upon the request the district attorney or the victim, the court will order the parties to not copy or disseminate matters of a sexually explicit nature without the permission of the court.Certain exceptions may apply for law enforcement and certain service providers.
SB 217: Modifying outdated language in sodomy statutes - introduced
This bill was approved by the Senate, but did not receive a hearing in the House.
This bill will change the definition of sodomy from “deviate sexual intercourse” in all of Oregon’s statutes and replace the term with “oral or anal intercourse”.
SB 227: Create Client-Advocate Privilege for Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Programs - introduced
This bill was dropped mid-session. There is a plan to work on it in the interim.
(Co-requested with the Oregon Alliance to End Violence Against Women)
This bill would have created a privilege for advocates serving clients who seek services at recognized sexual assault or domestic violence programs. The privilege would protect the confidentiality of communications between survivors and advocates and would protect all client records that relate to service provision. There are exceptions to allow for reports of child abuse, elder abuse, or abuse of a disabled person and in certain circumstances involving risk of physical injury.
SB 849: Allow Pharmacists to dispense emergency contraception - introduced
This bill passed the Senate, but did not receive a hearing in the House.
This bill allows modifies the definition of “practice of pharmacy” to include authority to prescribe and dispense emergency contraceptives in accordance with written protocol established by physician or nurse practitioner authorized to prescribe drugs. This would greatly benefit victims of rape and incest who are in fear of becoming impregnated as a result of the sexual assault or abuse.
2003 Legislation
SB752: The Creation of a Sexual Assault Victims’ Emergency Medical Response Fund (SAVE Fund)
At the request of the Attorney General’s Sexual Assault Task Force, the 2003 Legislature created the Sexual Assault Victims’ Emergency Medical Response Fund. The Fund contains no general revenue and is comprised of dollars from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Account of the Department of Justice, federal funds, and private donations.
This Fund will ensure that medical assessments are available to every sexual assault victim in the state, regardless of ability to pay. As of March 1, 2004, when going to a hospital or clinic, sexual assault victims will receive medical care, and if requested, medications to prevent sexually transmitted diseases and/or pregnancy. If the victim chooses to report the incident, the appropriate law enforcement agency will be contacted to approve the collection of forensic evidence using the OSP Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence (SAFE) Kit. As is current practice, a law enforcement officer will be on hand to collect the SAFE Kit from medical staff to preserve the chain of custody. What has changed is that the Fund will pay the hospital for collecting the evidence and no local law enforcement agency will be billed for these costs.
The Fund pays for a “Complete Medical Assessment”, which includes a medical examination and the collection of forensic evidence; the Complete Medical Assessment must be conducted within 84 hours of the assault. The Fund also pays for a “Partial Medical Assessment” which does not include the collection of forensic evidence and must be conducted within 7 days of the assault. The Fund will not cover the cost of treatment of injuries. The creation of this Fund does not make changes to the child abuse medical assessment statutes; they remain the same.
For more information, please contact the Department of Justice at (503) 378-5348, or the Attorney General’s Sexual Assault Task Force at (541) 342-5264. |
