An Act To Amend the Laws Governing Forensic Examination Kits
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1219
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: ROSEN
Amends: 25 MRSA §2915, 25 MRSA §3821

Legislative Document
No. 1219
S.P. 410
In Senate, March 30, 2017
An Act To Amend the Laws Governing Forensic Examination Kits
Submitted by the Department of Public Safety pursuant to Joint Rule 204.
Reference to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered 
printed.
HEATHER J.R. PRIEST
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator ROSEN of Hancock.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  25 MRSA §2915, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 719, §3 and affected by §11, 
is amended to read: 
§2915.  Uniform forensic examination kit for evidence collection in alleged cases of 
sexual assault 
1.  Development of uniform forensic examination kit.  The Department of Public 
Safety shall determine by rule what constitutes a uniform standardized forensic 
examination kit for evidence collection in alleged cases of gross sexual assault.  The rules 
must define the contents of the kit, instructions for administering the kit and a checklist 
that examiners must follow and enclose in the completed kit. 
2.  Use of uniform forensic examination kit.  A licensed hospital or licensed health 
care practitioner that conducts physical examinations of alleged victims of gross sexual 
assault shall use the uniform standardized forensic examination kit developed by the 
Department of Public Safety pursuant to subsection 1.  A health care practitioner who 
conducts physical examinations of alleged victims of gross sexual assault must be trained 
in the proper evidence collection procedures for conducting a forensic examination. 
Evidence collection results may not be excluded as evidence in any proceeding before 
any court of this State as a result of the examiner's failure to use the standardized 
evidence collection kit or as a result of the examiner's failure to be trained in the proper 
procedures for the collection of evidence required by this subsection. 
3.  Furnishing of uniform forensic examination kit.  The Department of Public 
Safety shall furnish the uniform forensic examination kits to licensed hospitals and 
licensed health care practitioners that perform forensic examinations of alleged victims of 
gross sexual assault. 
3-A.  "Sexual assault" defined.  For the purposes of this section, "sexual assault" 
means any crime enumerated in Title 17-A, chapter 11. 
4.  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.  25 MRSA §3821, as amended by PL 2007, c. 209, §7, is further amended 
to read: 
§3821.  Transportation and storage of forensic examination kits 
For the purposes of this section, "sexual assault" means any crime enumerated in 
Title 17-A, chapter 11. 
If an alleged victim of gross sexual assault has a forensic examination and has not 
reported the alleged offense to a law enforcement agency when the examination is 
complete, the licensed hospital or licensed health care practitioner that completed the 
forensic examination shall notify the nearest law enforcement agency.  That law 
enforcement agency shall transport the completed kit, identified only by a tracking 
number assigned by the hospital or health care practitioner the kit manufacturer, to its 
evidence storage facility.  The law enforcement agency shall store the kit for at least 90 
days from the time of receipt.  If during that 90-day period the alleged victim reports the 
offense to a law enforcement agency, the investigating agency shall take possession of the 
kit. 
In the case of a forensic examination performed under Title 24, section 2986, 
subsection 5, the law enforcement agency must immediately notify the district attorney 
for the district in which the hospital or health care practitioner is located that such a 
forensic examination has been performed and a forensic examination kit has been 
completed under Title 24, section 2986, subsection 5. 
Sec. 3.  Rulemaking; exemption from Maine Administrative Procedure 
Act.  The Department of Public Safety shall amend its rules implementing the Maine 
Revised Statutes, Title 25, sections 2915 and 3821 to reflect the changes set forth in this 
Act; and, notwithstanding Title 5, part 18, or any other provision of law to the contrary, 
rule amendments adopted in accordance with this section are not subject to the 
requirements of the Maine Administrative Procedure Act. 
Sec. 4.  Maine Revised Statutes headnote amended; revision clause.  In the 
Maine Revised Statutes, Title 25, chapter 407, in the chapter headnote, the words 
"transportation and storage of forensic examination kits for alleged victims of gross 
sexual assault" are amended to read "transportation and storage of forensic examination 
kits for alleged victims of sexual assault" and the Revisor of Statutes shall implement this 
revision when updating, publishing or republishing the statutes. 
SUMMARY 
This bill amends laws governing forensic examination kits to provide for the kits to 
be used for testing in relation to alleged crimes other than gross sexual assault.  This bill 
also provides that rules that have been adopted by the Department of Public Safety to 
implement the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 25, sections 2915 and 3821 may be amended 
to reflect the changes set forth in this Act without triggering the requirements set forth in 
the Maine Administrative Procedure Act.