SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2411        FILED ON: 1/20/2023

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1371

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Paul R. Feeney

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act establishing testing protocol and care for victims of date rape drugs.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2411        FILED ON: 1/20/2023

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1371

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

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An Act establishing testing protocol and care for victims of date rape drugs.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Section 2VVVV of Chapter 29 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out clause (vii) and inserting in place thereof the following three causes:-

(vii) costs associated with developing and implementing a testing standard for patient-reported involuntary consumption of drugs commonly used for drug facilitated sexual assault, whether or not a sexual assault has occurred, when presenting at a hospital facility in the Commonwealth; (viii) costs associated with establishing an trauma-based empathy training program for nurses examining patients reporting involuntary consumption of said drugs when presenting at a hospital facility in the commonwealth(ix) other services needed by the sexual assault nurse examiner program to support program operations and development.

SECTION 2. (a) There shall be within the department of public health, division of sexual health and youth development a date rape drug response and intervention task force to study, report, and recommend regulations relative to patient access to hospital care for incidents of suspected or confirmed date rape drug ingestion.

(b) The date rape drug response and intervention task force shall consist of the following members or their designees: the commissioner of the department of public health, who shall serve as chair; the secretary of health and human services; and 9 persons to be appointed by the chair with representation from relevant medical professionals and members of relevant community organizations.

(c) The taskforce shall be tasked with (i) formulating the definition of date rape drugs; (ii) collecting data and tracking confirmed incidents of date rape drug ingestion; (iii) issuing recommendations on standardizing care, and testing at hospital facilities across the commonwealth for suspected date rape drug ingestion regardless of whether or not a sexual assault has occurred.

(d) According to the definition of date rape drugs established by the taskforce, the department of public health shall produce a list of all qualifying date rape drugs and publish on the department webpage. The department shall provide resources on qualifying date rape drugs to serve as an informational source for the general public on the department webpage. The department shall provide on said website all available resources to individuals who suspect they have been a victim of involuntary consumption of a drug commonly used for facilitated sexual assault.

(e) The department shall require all hospitals to issue a urine sample or relevant drug testing sample to test for the presence of a date rape drug upon request by the patient.

(f) The task force shall prepare its findings and recommendations, together with drafts of legislation or regulations necessary to carry those recommendations into effect, by filing the same with the clerks of the senate and house of representatives and the joint committee on public health not later than 1 year after the effective date of this act.