PRINTER'S NO. 1006
No. 894 Session of 1991
INTRODUCED BY DeWEESE, BLAUM, PICCOLA, HAGARTY, KUKOVICH,
LAUGHLIN, PISTELLA, NAHILL, PRESTON, CAPPABIANCA, HERMAN,
VEON, WAMBACH, SALOOM, BELARDI, KRUSZEWSKI, D. R. WRIGHT,
BELFANTI, STABACK, TRELLO, OLASZ, BATTISTO, GIGLIOTTI, MELIO,
DALEY, PESCI AND HAYDEN, APRIL 2, 1991
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, APRIL 2, 1991
AN ACT
1 Requiring reporting of sexual offenses by practitioners of the
2 healing arts and psychotherapists; providing immunity from
3 liability to persons who make reports; providing for the
4 automatic revocation of the license of a practitioner of the
5 healing arts or psychotherapist who is convicted of a sexual
6 offense; and imposing a penalty.
7 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
8 hereby enacts as follows:
9 Section 1. Short title.
10 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Practitioner
11 and Psychotherapist Sexual Offense Reporting Act.
12 Section 2. Reports of suspected sexual offenses.
13 (a) Report by practitioner or psychotherapist.--If a
14 practitioner of the healing arts as defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 3130
15 (relating to practitioner of the healing arts sexual offenses)
16 or a psychotherapist as defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 3129 (relating
17 to psychotherapist sexual offenses) has reasonable cause to
18 suspect, on the basis of information provided by a patient or
1 client coming before him in his professional or official
2 capacity, that such patient or client is a victim of sexual
3 assault by another practitioner of the healing arts or
4 psychotherapist, as soon thereafter as is practicable, the
5 practitioner of the healing arts or psychotherapist shall ask
6 the patient or client if he or she wants the practitioner of the
7 healing arts or psychotherapist to make a report under this act.
8 If the patient or client wishes the practitioner of the healing
9 arts or psychotherapist to make the report, the patient or
10 client shall provide the practitioner of the healing arts or
11 psychotherapist with a written consent for the report.
12 (b) Reporting procedure.--Within 30 days after a patient or
13 client consents to a report, the practitioner of the healing
14 arts or psychotherapist shall report the suspicion to both of
15 the following:
16 (1) The district attorney in the county in which the
17 suspected sexual offense occurred and the county in which the
18 suspected or accused practitioner of the healing arts or
19 psychotherapist practices.
20 (2) The appropriate licensure board within the Bureau of
21 Professional and Occupational Affairs or the proper
22 certification or registration organization.
23 (c) Contents of report.--A report under this section shall
24 contain only information that is necessary to identify the
25 reporter, the practitioner of the healing arts or
26 psychotherapist who is alleged to have committed the sexual
27 offense and the alleged victim and to express the suspicion that
28 a sexual offense has occurred in violation of 18 Pa.C.S. § 3121
29 (relating to rape), 3123 (relating to involuntary deviate sexual
30 intercourse), 3126 (relating to indecent assault), 3129 or 3130.
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1 (d) Penalty for failure to report.--A person who
2 intentionally violates this section by failing to report as
3 required commits a summary offense.
4 (e) Immunity from liability.--A practitioner of the healing
5 arts or psychotherapist or an employer of a practitioner of the
6 healing arts or psychotherapist who makes a report under this
7 section shall be immune from civil or criminal liability on
8 account of making the report, cooperating with an investigation
9 or giving testimony which results from the report unless the
10 report was made in bad faith or with a malicious purpose.
11 (f) Reporting exception where effect may be detrimental to
12 patient or client.--
13 (1) If the treating practitioner of the healing arts or
14 psychotherapist believes that immediate reporting would be
15 detrimental to the welfare of the patient or client, he may
16 defer reporting until he believes that reporting the alleged
17 offense will not harm the treatment process or for a period
18 not to exceed one year from the date the practitioner of the
19 healing arts or psychotherapist learned of the alleged
20 offense, whichever first occurs.
21 (2) The reporting procedure contained in subsection (b)
22 shall apply after the time to report is determined under
23 paragraph (1).
24 Section 3. Automatic revocation of license.
25 Upon conviction of a practitioner of the healing arts of a
26 sexual offense under 18 Pa.C.S. § 3121 (relating to rape), 3123
27 (relating to involuntary deviate sexual intercourse), 3126
28 (relating to indecent assault) or 3130 (relating to practitioner
29 of the healing arts sexual offenses) or upon conviction of a
30 psychotherapist of a sexual offense under 18 Pa.C.S. § 3129
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1 (relating to psychotherapist sexual offenses), the court shall
2 immediately order the automatic revocation of the license or
3 certification of the practitioner of the healing arts or
4 psychotherapist, as the case may be. A copy of the order shall
5 be included with the district attorney's notification to the
6 appropriate licensure board within the Bureau of Professional
7 and Occupation Affairs or certifying agency pursuant to section
8 4. Revocation under this section shall not be stayed pending any
9 appeal of a conviction. For the purposes of this section,
10 conviction includes a verdict of guilty or a plea of guilty or
11 nolo contendere.
12 Section 4. Report of district attorney required.
13 The district attorney prosecuting an offense under 18 Pa.C.S.
14 § 3121 (relating to rape), 3123 (relating to involuntary deviate
15 sexual intercourse), 3126 (relating to indecent assault), 3129
16 (relating to psychotherapist sexual offenses) or 3130 (relating
17 to practitioner of the healing arts sexual offenses) shall, upon
18 conviction of the practitioner of the healing arts or
19 psychotherapist, report the conviction, in writing, within 30
20 days after the conviction, to the following:
21 (1) The Secretary of the United States Department of
22 Health and Human Services.
23 (2) The licensure board within the Bureau of
24 Professional and Occupational Affairs or registration or
25 certification organization, if any, which issued the
26 practitioner's or psychotherapist's license, certification or
27 registration.
28 (3) The professional organization with which the
29 practitioner of the healing arts or psychotherapist is
30 affiliated.
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1 (4) The present employer of the practitioner of the
2 healing arts or psychotherapist and the employer of the
3 practitioner of the healing arts or psychotherapist at the
4 time of the alleged sexual offense, if such employer is not
5 the present employer.
6 Section 5. Duties of Bureau of Professional and Occupational
7 Affairs.
8 The Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs shall
9 notify licensees affected by this act of its provisions and
10 provide to such licensees a standard form for meeting the
11 reporting requirements of this act.
12 Section 6. Effective date.
13 This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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