An Act to Remove the Term "Alleged" When Referring to Victims of Sexual Assault in the Provisions of the Maine Revised Statutes Pertaining to Forensic Examinations

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STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE
_____
H.P. 1092 - L.D. 1651
An Act to Remove the Term "Alleged" When Referring to Victims of Sexual
Assault in the Provisions of the Maine Revised Statutes Pertaining to
Forensic Examinations
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §3360-M, as amended by PL 2017, c. 156, §1, is further 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 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
performs forensic examinations for alleged victims of 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 the alleged victim by name but
must be assigned a tracking number assigned by the manufacturer of the forensic
APPROVED
MAY 23, 2025
BY GOVERNOR
CHAPTER
109
PUBLIC LAW
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examination kit. 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 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 2‑A.
Sec. 2. 24 MRSA §2905-B, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2021, c. 92, §1, is further
amended to read:
2. Examination on unconscious alleged victim of sexual assault. The health care
practitioner is authorized to perform the examination pursuant to section 2986, subsection
5; or
Sec. 3. 24 MRSA §2986, as amended by PL 2019, c. 94, §1, 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
Department of Public Safety pursuant to Title 25, section 2915 to perform forensic
examinations for alleged victims of 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 perform forensic examinations for alleged victims of 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 assigned by the manufacturer of the forensic examination kit. 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 sexual assault may not bill the alleged victim
or the alleged victim's insurer, nonprofit hospital or medical service organization or health
maintenance organization for payment for the examination.
3. Completed kit. If the alleged victim has not reported 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 8 years. The completed kit may be
identified only by the tracking number. If during that storage period an alleged a victim
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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 inform the alleged victim which law
enforcement agency is storing the kit.
If the alleged victim reports 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
60 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 Court
may order either that the kit be stored for additional time or that the kit be transported to
the Maine State Police Crime Laboratory for processing, or such other disposition that the
court determines 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 a
victim that are outside the scope of the forensic examination.
5. Implied consent. If an alleged a victim of 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 report to 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
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
examination under this section.
Sec. 4. 25 MRSA §2915, as amended by PL 2017, c. 156, §3, is further 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 sexual assault. The rules must
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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 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 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 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 2‑A.
Sec. 5. 25 MRSA c. 407, headnote is amended to read:
CHAPTER 407
TRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE OF FORENSIC EXAMINATION KITS
FOR ALLEGED VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT
Sec. 6. 25 MRSA §3821, 2nd ¶, as amended by PL 2023, c. 236, §1, is further
amended to read:
If an alleged a victim of sexual assault or strangulation 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 forensic examination kit, identified only
by a tracking number assigned by the kit manufacturer, to its evidence storage facility. The
law enforcement agency shall store the forensic examination kits involving sexual assault
for 20 years and forensic examination kits involving only strangulation for 6 years. If
during that storage period the alleged victim reports the offense to a law enforcement
agency, the investigating agency shall take possession of the forensic examination kit.
Sec. 7. 30-A MRSA §287, as amended by PL 1999, c. 719, §§5 to 8 and affected
by §11, is further amended to read:
§287. Physical examination of crime victims
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1. Payment of expenses by district attorney. Except as provided in subsection 2, in
all cases reported to a law enforcement officer of sexual crimes against minors or assault
when serious bodily injury has been inflicted, the office of the district attorney of the county
in which the alleged crime occurred shall pay the expenses of a physical examination of
the victim conducted for the purpose of obtaining evidence for the prosecution. Pursuant
to Title 5, section 3360‑M, the Victims' Compensation Board shall pay the expenses of
forensic examinations for alleged victims a victim of the alleged crime of gross sexual
assault.
2. Limitation. The district attorney is required to pay the expenses for the physical
examination of a victim in accordance with subsection 1 only in the absence of medical
insurance or other 3rd-party coverage of the expenses of examination and only from a fund
or account appropriated for that purpose. The office of the district attorney is not liable for
the payment of any charges, costs or fees for an examination under subsection 1 until the
district attorney has received copies of all reports and records pertaining to the examination,
if the copies have been requested.
2-A. Drug and alcohol testing. Notwithstanding subsections 1 and 2 and Title 5,
section 3360‑M, the district attorney shall pay the expense of any analysis of a drug or
alcohol test performed as part of a forensic examination of an alleged a victim of the alleged
crime of gross sexual assault when the purpose of the analysis is to obtain evidence for the
prosecution.
3. Medical personnel not liable for furnishing reports, records or testimony. A
physician, nurse, hospital, clinic or any other person, firm or corporation attending a victim
under subsection 1 is not liable in damages or otherwise for providing reports or records,
copies of reports or records or for their testimony relating to any examination performed
under this section when those reports, records or testimony are provided to a district
attorney, a law enforcement officer or a court for the purpose of prosecuting the alleged
crime, whether or not the reports, records or testimony are provided with the written
authorization of the victim examined under this section.