SB 25-273 — "14 Days Hospitals Retain Blood Draws for Investigations"
Status: Governor Signed (2025-06-02)
Introduced: April 3, 2025
Purpose / Intent
Based on the bill title and legislative history, SB 25-273 requires hospitals to retain blood specimens drawn from patients for a period of 14 days to preserve evidence that may be relevant to criminal or administrative investigations. The primary intent is to ensure that biological evidence remains available to investigators (e.g., law enforcement, coroners/medical examiners, or prosecutors) during the early stages of an investigation.
Note: The bill text itself was not provided. The summary below reflects the core requirement indicated by the title and outlines likely impacts and common implementation elements found in similar statutes.
Key provisions (as indicated by title and typical practice)
- Establishes a minimum retention period of 14 days for blood specimens collected by hospitals.
- Applies to blood draws taken in the course of clinical care when those specimens may be needed for investigations.
- Likely addresses chain-of-custody and access procedures for investigators (though specific authorization, warrant, or consent rules are not included in the provided materials).
- May include exceptions (e.g., when samples are used for clinical care, already released to an authorized authority, or when retention is not feasible) — not specified in the available record.
- May address liability, costs of storage, and notification procedures (not available in the provided summary).
Because the bill text is not included here, readers should consult the enacted statute for precise definitions, scope, exceptions, and procedural requirements.
Who is affected
- Hospitals and health-care facilities: responsible for storing blood specimens for the required 14-day period and for maintaining appropriate documentation and chain-of-custody.
- Patients: their clinical specimens could be retained longer than under current practice; privacy/confidentiality protections and consent procedures require review in the full text.
- Law enforcement, prosecutors, coroners/medical examiners, and defense counsel: potential increase in availability of biological evidence during early investigative windows.
- Clinical laboratories and medical records departments: operational and storage impacts, possible cost implications.
Legislative timeline / procedural history
- 2025-04-03: Introduced in Senate — assigned to Health & Human Services
- 2025-04-10 to 04-16: Committee activity and amendment/referral in Senate Health & Human Services
- 2025-04-21: Senate Second Reading passed with committee amendments
- 2025-04-22: Introduced in House — assigned to Judiciary
- 2025-04-30 to 05-03: House committee/referrals and floor passage (Second & Third Reading passed with no further amendments)
- 2025-05-13: Sent to Governor; signed by President of the Senate and Speaker of the House
- 2025-06-02: Governor signed (bill enacted)
Sponsors
Primary and cosponsors include Lesley Smith, Dylan Roberts, Matt Soper (primaries), and many cosponsors including C. Kipp, M. Lindsay, L. Daugherty, D. Michaelson Jenet, T. Exum, M. Ball, I. Jodeh, L. Cutter, M. Snyder, J. Gonzales, M. Weissman, M. Duran, K. Mullica, K. Wallace, J. Bridges, F. Winter, and K. Brown.
Implementation / Next steps
- Effective date: Not provided here. Consult the enacted bill text or the official state statutes to determine when the retention requirement takes effect.
- Agencies: Health departments, hospital compliance offices, and law enforcement agencies may need to issue guidance or administrative rules to implement storage, access, privacy, and cost-recovery procedures.
- Recommended action: Review the final enacted statute and any administrative rules for exact language (definitions, exemptions, access/authorization procedures, penalties, and effective dates) to understand obligations and rights under the law.
