Section 10172.3a - Sexual assault evidence tracking system(a)Establishment.-- No later than one year from the effective date of this subsection, in coordination with the Pennsylvania State Police, the commission shall establish and maintain a Statewide tracking system for evidence collected under the sexual assault evidence collection program. The commission may: (1) Purchase an electronic off-the-shelf tracking system if the system meets all of the requirements of this section.(2) Apply for Federal funding to establish and maintain the tracking system.(b) Requirements of system.--The sexual assault evidence tracking system shall: (1) Be electronic and web-based.(2) Be administered by the commission, with assistance from the Department of Health, the Office of Attorney General and the Pennsylvania State Police.(3) Have help desk availability at all times.(4) Ensure that the contact information for PCAR, the Pennsylvania State Police or the local law enforcement agency is accessible to the victim through the tracking system.(5) Allow for the victim to opt in for automatic notifications when status updates are entered in the system.(6) Include at each step of the process a brief explanation of the general purpose of that step and a general indication of how long the step may take to complete.(7) A safety or escape exit that allows a victim to quickly close the tracking system on their device.(8) Allow for secure access, controlled by the commission, that shall restrict user access and allow different permissions based on the need of the particular user. The commission shall only approve the users necessary for the operation of the system and accurate and complete information.(9) Provide users, other than victims, the ability to provide for any individual who is granted access to the program their own unique user identification and password.(10) Provide a mechanism for a victim to enter the system and only access the information pertaining to the victim.(11) Enable sexual assault evidence to be tracked and identified through the unique rape kit identification number, bar code or other unique identification feature approved by the commission that the vendor applies to each rape kit.(12) Provide the ability to record the date, time and user identification when a user, who is not a victim, accesses the system.(13) Require that a victim's access to the system remain anonymous to all parties.(14) Provide the user with the ability to use the system in their preferred language.(15) Track the destruction of a rape kit after analysis of the rape kit is completed.(16) Contain the following fields for tracking and reporting as follows:(i) For health care facilities fields: (A) The date that the sexual assault evidence was collected.(B) The date and time that notification was made to the local law enforcement agency or the Pennsylvania State Police.(ii) For local law enforcement agencies and the Pennsylvania State Police:(A) The date that the local law enforcement agency or the Pennsylvania State Police took possession of the sexual assault evidence from the health care facility.(B) The date that the local law enforcement agency or the Pennsylvania State Police submitted the evidence to a laboratory for analysis.(C) The date that the local law enforcement agency or the Pennsylvania State Police received the sexual assault evidence results back from the laboratory.(iii) For laboratories: (A) The date that the sexual assault evidence is received from the local law enforcement agency or the Pennsylvania State Police.(B) The date that the laboratory completes the analysis of the sexual assault evidence.(c) Maintenance and operation.--The following shall apply:(1) The commission, or an entity contracted by the commission, shall have the exclusive responsibility and authority to maintain and operate the tracking system's server. The tracking system shall include a data backup system located on a server that shall at all times be under the control of the commission or the entity contracted by the commission.(2) For the purposes of this subsection, the term "entity" shall not include a government agency.(d) Training.--The commission shall create and provide comprehensive training to inform all users who are not victims about the existence of the tracking system, the requirements of the program and the requirements to use the tracking system. The commission and PCAR shall post on their publicly accessible Internet websites tutorials on how to use the system for victims. The commission shall provide health care facilities and PCAR with resources for victims on the system.(e) Data.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the commission shall provide aggregate data related to the system and may not provide data that would otherwise compromise the safety of the victim or a successful prosecution when data is requested under the act of February 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No. 3), known as the Right-to-Know Law, or any other relevant statute.(f) Participation.--All entities that handle and process rape kits, including health care facilities, the Pennsylvania State Police, local law enforcement agencies and laboratories, shall participate in the system.(g) Resource only.--The tracking system shall serve as a resource for a victim. Notwithstanding any other provision of law or court rule, information entered into the tracking system shall not serve as an official status of the rape kit and shall not be admissible to challenge the chain of custody of evidence in a criminal proceeding.Added by P.L. (number not assigned at time of publication) 2024 No. 122,§ 2, eff. 10/29/2024.