An Act To IO
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1219
Committee Amendment CA_A_S161 (Senate)
Amends: 5 MRSA §3360-M, 24 MRSA §2986

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "(\ " to S.P. 410, L.D. 1219, Bill, "An Act To 
IO 
Amend the Laws Governing Forensic Examination Kits" 
Amend the bill by inse1iing after the enacting clause and before section I the 
following: 
'Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §3360-M, as amended by PL 2009, c. 79, §4, is futiher amended 
to read: 
§3360-M. Payment for forensic examinations for alleged victims of sexual assault 
1. Payment. The board shall pay the costs of forensic examiner training as well as 
the costs of forensic examinations for alleged victims of gFeS& sexual assault from the 
Victims' Compensation Fund. 
The board shall track expenditures for forensic 
examinations separately from all other expenditures. Forensic examination payments are 
not subject to any other provision of this chapter. 
For the purposes of this section, 
"sexual assault" means any crime enumerated in Title 17-A, chapter 11. 
2. Forensic examination; forensic examiner training and education. The board 
shall determine by rule what a forensic examination may include for purposes of 
payment. 
An examination must include at least all services directly related to the 
gathering of forensic evidence and related testing and treatment for pregnancy and 
sexually transmitted diseases. The board shall pay a licensed hospital or licensed health 
care practitioner the actual cost of the forensic examination up to a maximum of $750. 
The cost of sexual assault forensic examiner training and education provided by the 
sexual assault forensic examiner program must be paid from the Victims' Compensation 
Fund in an amount that may not exceed $50,000 per year. 
3. Process for payment. A licensed hospital or licensed health care practitioner that 
perfonns forensic examinations for alleged victims of gFeS& sexual assault shall submit a 
bill to the Victims' Compensation Board directly for payment of the forensic 
examinations. 
The hospital or health care practitioner that performs a forensic 
examination shall take steps necessary to ensure the confidentiality of the alleged victim's 
identity. The bill submitted by the hospital or health care practitioner may not identify 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT"A "to S.P. 410, L.D. 1219 
the alleged victim by name but must be assigned a tracking number that corresponds to 
assigned by the manufacturer of the forensic examination kit. The tracking number may 
not be the alleged victim's social security number. The hospital or health care practitioner 
that performs the examination may not bill the alleged victim or the alleged victim's 
insurer, nonprofit hospital or medical service organization or health maintenance 
organization for payment of the examination. The alleged victim is not required to report 
the alleged offense to a law enforcement agency. 
4. 
Other reimbursement. 
The fact that forensic examinations are paid for 
separately through the Victims' Compensation Fund does not preclude alleged victims of 
gross sexual assault from seeking reimbursement for expenses other than those for the 
forensic examination. A victim seeking reimbursement from the Victims' Compensation 
Fund for expenses other than the forensic examination is subject to all other provisions of 
this chapter. 
5. Rules. Rules adopted pursuant to this section are routine technical rules as 
defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter II-A 2-A. 
Sec. 2. 24 MRSA §2986, as amended by PL 2011, c. 59, §1 and c. 420, Pt. A, §21, 
is further amended to read: 
§2986. Performing forensic examinations for alleged victims of sexual assault 
1. Standard forensic examination kit. All licensed hospitals and licensed health 
care practitioners shall use a standard forensic examination kit developed and furnished 
by the Depaitment of Public Safety pursuant to Title 25, section 2915 to perform forensic 
examinations for alleged victims of gross sexual assault. For the purposes of this section, 
"sexual assault" means any crime enumerated in Title 17-A, chapter 11. 
2. Victims' Compensation Board billing. All licensed hospitals and licensed health 
care practitioners that perfonn forensic examinations for alleged victims of gross sexual 
assault shall submit a bill to the Victims' Compensation Board directly for payment of the 
forensic examinations. 
The Victims' Compensation Board shall determine what a 
forensic examination includes pursuant to Title 5, section 3360-M. The hospital or health 
care practitioner that performs a forensic examination shall take steps necessary to ensure 
the confidentiality of the alleged victim's identity. The bill submitted by the hospital or 
health care practitioner may not identify the alleged victim by name but must be assigned 
a tracking number that corresponds to assigned by the manufacturer of the forensic 
examination kit. The tracking number may not be the alleged victim's soeial security 
number. The Victims' Compensation Board shall pay the actual cost of the forensic 
examination up to a maximum of $750. 
Licensed hospitals and licensed health care 
practitioners that perform forensic examinations for alleged victims of gross sexual 
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assault may not bill the alleged victim or the alleged victim's insurer, nonprofit hospital or 
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medical service organization or health maintenance organization for payment for the 
examination. 
3. Completed kit. If the alleged victim has not rep01ted the alleged offense to a law 
enforcement agency when the examination is complete, the hospital or health care 
practitioner shall then notify the nearest law enforcement agency, which shall transport 
and store the completed forensic examination kit for at least 90 days. The completed kit 
may be identified only by the tracking number. If during that 90-day period an alleged 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITIEE AMENDMENT"A"to S.P. 410, L.D. 1219 
victim decides to report the alleged offense to a law enforcement agency, the alleged 
victim may contact the hospital or health care practitioner to determine the tracking 
number. The hospital or health care practitioner shall provide the alleged victim with the 
tracking number on the forensic examination kit and shall infonn the alleged victim 
which law enforcement agency is storing the kit. 
If the alleged victim repmis the alleged offense to a law enforcement agency by the time 
the examination is complete, the investigating agency shall retain custody of the forensic 
examination kit. 
If an examination is performed under subsection 5 and the alleged victim does not, within 
days, regain a state of consciousness adequate to decide whether or not to report the 
alleged offense, the State may file a motion in the District Court relating to storing or 
processing the forensic examination kit. Upon finding good cause and after considering 
factors, including, but not limited to, the possible benefits to public safety in processing 
the kit and the likelihood of the alleged victim's regaining a state of consciousness 
adequate to decide whether or not to report the alleged offense in a reasonable time, the 
District Comi may order either that the kit be stored for additional time or that the kit be 
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transp01ied to the Maine State Police Crime Laboratory for processing, or such other 
disposition that the comi dete1mines just. In the interests of justice or upon motion by the 
State, the District Court may conduct hearings required under this paragraph 
confidentially and in camera and may impound pleadings and other records related to 
them. 
4. Other payment. A licensed hospital or licensed health care practitioner is not 
precluded from seeking other payment for treatment or services provided to an alleged 
victim that are outside the scope of the forensic examination. 
5. Implied consent. If an alleged victim of grestr sexual assault is unconscious and a 
reasonable person would conclude that exigent circumstances justify conducting a 
forensic examination, a licensed hospital or licensed health care practitioner may perform 
an examination in accordance with the provisions of this section. 
A forensic examination kit completed in accordance with this subsection must be treated 
in accordance with Title 25, section 3821 and must preserve the alleged victim's 
anonymity. 
In addition, the law enforcement agency shall immediately rep01i to the 
district attorney for the district in which the hospital or health care practitioner is located 
that such a forensic examination has been perfo1med and a forensic examination kit has 
been completed under this subsection. 
6. Liability. A licensed hospital or licensed health care practitioner in the exercise of 
due care is not liable for an act done or omitted in performing a sexual assault forensic 
7 
examination under this section.' 
Amend the bill in section 3 in the 4th line (page 2, line 14 in L.D.) by striking out the 
following: "part 18" and inse1iing the following: 'Part 18' 
Amend the bill by inserting after section 3 the following: 
'Sec. 4. Rulemaking. The Victims' Compensation Board shall amend the rules on 
reimbursement by the Victims' Compensation Fund for use of forensic examination test 
kits in ce1iain instances of sexual assault as provided in this Act by January 1, 2018. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT"A "to S.P. 410, L.D. 1219 
Rules adopted pursuant to this section are routine technical rules as defined by the Maine 
Revised Statutes, Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.' 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Pait letter or 
section number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment amends the laws governing forensic examination kits to provide for 
the kits to be used for testing in relation to alleged sexual assault crimes other than gross 
sexual assault, making that change in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, section 3360-M 
and Title 24, section 2986. The amendment changes the tracking number used on the 
completed kit from a number assigned by the hospital or health care practitioner to the 
number assigned by the kit manufacturer. 
The amendment requires the Victims' 
Compensation Board to amend its rules regarding forensic examination test kits. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT