Judiciary & Public Safety Public Hearing

COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY AND PUBLIC SAFETY BROOKE PINTO, CHAIR NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON Bill 25-345, the Accountability and Victim Protection Amendment Act of 2023, Bill 25-167, the Wheel-Lock Help Incentive Program Act of 2023, Bill 25-343, the Private Security Camera System Incentive Program Small Business Expansion Amendment Act of 2023, and Bill 25-348, the Ensuring Safe Forensic Evidence Handling for Sexual Assault Survivors Amendment Act of 2023 Monday, September 18, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. Room 500, John A. Wilson Building 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20004 To watch live: Councilmember Pinto’s YouTube Page (www.youtube.com/@cmbrookepinto) DC Council Website (dccouncil.gov) Council Channel 13 (Cable Television Providers) Office of Cable Television Website (entertainment.dc.gov) On Monday, September 18, 2023, Councilmember Brooke Pinto, Chairwoman of the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, will hold a hearing on four bills: Bill 25-345, the Accountability and Victim Protection Amendment Act of 2023; Bill 25-167, the Wheel-Lock Help Incentive Program Act of 2023; Bill 25-343, the Private Security Camera System Incentive Program Small Business Expansion Amendment Act of 2023; and Bill 25-348, the Ensuring Safe Forensic Evidence Handling for Sexual Assault Survivors Amendment Act of 2023. The hearing will begin at 10:00 a.m. in Room 500 of the John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20004. Public witnesses will also have the option to testify virtually. The hearing will be broadcast live on DC Council Channel 13 and streamed live at www.dccouncil.us, youtube.com/@cmbrookepinto, and entertainment.dc.gov. Bill 25-345 includes a number of provisions aimed at improving protections for victims or potential victims of violent crime in the District, and at holding perpetrators of serious crimes accountable. The bill would: • Eliminate or extend the length of statutes of limitations for certain serious crimes; • Make misdemeanor arrest warrants extraditable outside the District where a court finds good cause; • Clarify that GPS records in the possession of the Pretrial Services Agency (PSA) can be admissible to prove a defendant’s guilt in a criminal case or other judicial proceeding;  • Add “assault with significant bodily injury” to a list of offenses that qualify for sentencing enhancements when committed against senior citizens; • Prohibit individuals who have been convicted of stalking from possessing a firearm; • Create a standalone felony offense of strangulation; • Allow for testing of defendants charged with sexual assault for HIV at the time they are charge, in order to provide victims with information about their attacker’s HIV status at an early stage so that they can make informed health care decisions; • Create new evidentiary rules to give courts discretion to admit evidence of previous similar crimes in sexual abuse and child sexual abuse cases; • Establish progressive sentencing for serial misdemeanor sex offenders; • Close a loophole in the prohibition on non-consensual dissemination of sexual images; • Direct courts to expedite cases involving a child victim; • Create enhanced penalties for domestic violence crimes committed in the presence of a child; • Make conforming changes to the Expanding Supports for Crime Victims Amendment Act of 2023; • Create additional protections for 12-year-old victims of sexual abuse; and • Extend liability for certain sexual offenses to contractors of organizations. Bill 25-167 would establish a Wheel-Lock Help Incentive Program, to be administered by the Mayor, to encourage the purchase and installation of steering wheel locks or lug nut locks on an owned or leased vehicle. As introduced, the bill would allow for rebates of up to $100 per steering wheel lock or lug nut locks, with a maximum rebate of up to $100 per household. Bill 25-343 would expand the District’s existing private security camera rebate program, which currently provides rebates to individuals and entities to support the purchase of security camera systems for their homes or businesses. The bill would expand the program to provide reimbursements to small businesses for security camera systems and glass break sensors installed on the interiors of their businesses. Bill 25-348 would clarify that the administration of physical evidence recovery kits, strangulation assessments, and intimate partner violence assessments are a form of medical forensic care. It would establish requirements for the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) to retrieve, and for the Department of Forensic Sciences (DFS) to store, the results of medical forensic care provided to sexual assault victims who have not yet reported the crime to MPD. The bill would expand reporting requirements on DFS and the District’s SAVRAA Independent Expert Consultant to require reporting on DFS’s storage of anonymous kits. The Committee invites the public to testify. Those who wish to do so must register using the Council’s Hearing Management System at https://lims.dccouncil.gov/hearings by 10:00 a.m. on Friday, September 15, 2023. Those who represent organizations will have 5 minutes to speak. All other witnesses will have 3 minutes to speak. Witnesses will have the option to testify in person or virtually; witnesses should specify which option they are electing at the time they sign up to testify. 2 Witnesses who anticipate needing spoken language interpretation, or who require sign language interpretation, are requested to inform the Committee office of the need as soon as possible, but no later than 5 business days before the proceeding. We will make every effort to fulfill timely requests, although alternatives may be offered. Requests may be submitted via the Hearing Management System during registration or by contacting Ms. Aukima Benjamin, Committee Manager to the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, at (202) 724-8058 or via e-mail at judiciary@dccouncil.gov. Requests received less than 5 business days before the proceeding may not be fulfilled. Witnesses will receive instructions on how to participate by Zoom prior to the hearing. If you have additional questions, please contact the Committee Manager at the phone number or e-mail listed above. If you are unable to testify at the public hearing, written statements are encouraged and will be made a part of the official record; written testimony should be submitted through the Council’s Hearing Management System at https://lims.dccouncil.gov/hearings. Testimony will be publicly accessible following Committee review. The public may also leave voicemail testimony for the Committee by calling (202) 630-7585, which will be transcribed and made part of the hearing record. Members of the public leaving voicemail testimony should speak slowly and clearly, state their full name and the organization they represent, if any, and note the bill, hearing, or agency that they are submitting testimony on. For privacy purposes, members of the public are asked to not provide an e-mail, phone number, or other personal contact information in voicemail testimony. The record will close at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, October 2, 2023. 3