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92_HB3172gms
STATE OF ILLINOIS
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
SPRINGFIELD, 62706
GEORGE H. RYAN
GOVERNOR
July 27, 2001
To the Honorable Members of the
Illinois House of Representatives
92nd General Assembly
Pursuant to the authority vested in the Governor by
Article IV, Section 9(e) of the Illinois Constitution of
1970, and re-affirmed by the People of the State of Illinois
by popular referendum in 1974, and conforming to the standard
articulated by the Illinois Supreme Court in People ex Rel.
Klinger v. Howlett, 50 Ill. 2d 242 (1972), Continental
Illinois National Bank and Trust Co. v. Zagel, 78 Ill. 2d 387
(1979), People ex Rel. City of Canton v. Crouch, 79 Ill. 2d
356 (1980), and County of Kane v. Carlson, 116 Ill. 2d 186
(1987), that gubernatorial action be consistent with the
fundamental purposes and the intent of the bill, I hereby
return House Bill 3172, entitled "AN ACT in relation to
criminal law," with my specific recommendations for change.
House Bill 3172 allows a sexual assault nurse examiner to
conduct an examination of a sexual assault victim using a
State Police Evidence Collection Kit. A sexual assault nurse
examiner is defined as a registered nurse who has completed a
sexual assault nurse examiner training program which meets
the guidelines of the International Association of Forensic
Nurses.
I fully support the purpose of House Bill 3172 which is
to expand the number of personnel trained to collect
potential evidence for a sexual assault criminal trial. The
bill, however, explicitly states that a "sexual assault nurse
examiner is competent to conduct examinations using sexual
assault evidence collections kits." While this particular
language may not cause any problem, the word "competent" does
carry with it a certain evidentiary meaning.
While I believe the possibility is remote, the provision
listing only sexual assault nurse examiner as "competent" to
collect sexual evidence could be argued by defense counsel to
make only sexual assault nurse examiners competent from an
evidentiary standpoint to collect this evidence and thereby
exclude other personnel, such as doctors. It is my
understanding that the intent of this provision was to
clarify that a nurse examiner could conduct the examination
without the necessity of a doctor being present or
participating in the examination. I believe the provision
should be made clear that this is the intent and thereby
eliminate any other possible interpretation of the law.
Finally, to make sure that this necessary provision
becomes law on January 1, 2002, as originally intended by the
General Assembly, I also suggest adding a January 1, 2002
effective date so that my amendatory veto does not delay
implementation of the law.
For these reasons, I return House Bill 3172 with the
following recommendations for change:
On page 2, by replacing lines 15 through 17 with the
following:
"collection kits. A sexual assault nurse examiner
may conduct examinations using the sexual assault
evidence collection kits, without the presence or
participation of a physican. The Department of
Public Health"; and
On page 2, by inserting after line 27 the following:
"Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect
January 1, 2002."
With these specific recommendations for change, House
Bill 3172 will have my approval. I respectfully request your
concurrence.
Sincerely,
s/GEORGE H. RYAN
Governor