| Chapter 195 |
| 2025 -- S 0269 Enacted 06/26/2025 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- PREVENTION AND SUPPRESSION OF CONTAGIOUS DISEASES -- HIV/AIDS |
Introduced By: Senators Murray, Bell, Euer, Lauria, LaMountain, McKenney, Bissaillon, Acosta, and Burke |
| Date Introduced: February 13, 2025 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Section 23-6.3-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 23-6.3 entitled "Prevention |
| and Suppression of Contagious Diseases — HIV/AIDS" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
| 23-6.3-4. Exceptions to consent requirements. |
| (a) A healthcare provider may test for the presence of HIV without obtaining consent from |
| the individual to be tested under the following conditions: |
| (1) When the individual to be tested is under one year of age; |
| (2) When a child between one and thirteen (13) years of age appears to be symptomatic for |
| HIV; |
| (3) When the individual to be tested is a minor under the care and authority of the |
| department of children, youth and families, and the director of that department certifies that an HIV |
| test is necessary to secure health or human services for that individual; |
| (4) In a licensed healthcare facility or healthcare setting, in the event that an occupational |
| health representative or physician, registered nurse practitioner, physician assistant, or nurse- |
| midwife, not directly involved in the exposure, determines that an employee or emergency service |
| worker, other than one in a supervisory position to the person making the determination, had a |
| significant exposure to the blood and/or body fluids of a patient and the patient or the patient’s |
| guardian refuses to grant consent for an HIV test to determine whether the patient has HIV, then, |
| if a sample of the patient’s blood is available, that blood shall be tested for HIV. |
| (i) If a sample of the patient’s blood is not otherwise available and the patient refuses to |
| grant consent to draw blood, the employee or emergency service worker may petition the superior |
| court for a court order mandating that the test be performed. |
| (ii) Before a patient or a sample of the patient’s blood is required to undergo an HIV test, |
| the employee or emergency service worker must submit to a baseline HIV test within seventy-two |
| (72) hours of the exposure. |
| (iii) No person who determines that an employee or emergency service worker has |
| sustained a significant exposure and authorizes the HIV testing of a patient, nor any person or |
| healthcare facility who acts in good faith and recommends the test be performed, shall have any |
| liability as a result of their actions carried out under this chapter, unless those persons are proven |
| to have acted in bad faith. |
| (iv) For the purposes of this section, “emergency service worker” means a worker |
| responding on behalf of a licensed ambulance/rescue service, or a fire department or a law |
| enforcement agency, who, in the course of his/hertheir professional duties, has been exposed to |
| bodily fluids in circumstances that present a significant risk of transmission of HIV, and has |
| completed a pre-hospital exposure form in accordance with § 23-4.1-19. |
| (5) In an emergency, where due to a grave medical or psychiatric condition, and it is |
| impossible to obtain consent from the patient or, if applicable under state law, the patient’s parent, |
| guardian, or agent. |
| (6) As permitted under § 23-1-38 entitled “HIV Antibody Testing-Sperm Collection or |
| Donation.” |
| (7) Any individual convicted of a violation of any provisions of chapter 34.1 of title 11 |
| entitled “Commercial Sexual Activity,” shall be required to be tested for HIV unless already |
| documented HIV positive. All individuals tested under this section shall be informed of their test |
| results. All individuals tested under this section who are determined to be injecting and/or intra- |
| nasal drug users shall be referred to appropriate substance abuse treatment as outlined in § 23-6.3- |
| 3(e). |
| (8) Any individual convicted of possession of any controlled substance as defined in |
| chapter 28 of title 21 entitled “Uniform Controlled Substances Act,” that has been administered |
| with a hypodermic instrument, retractable hypodermic syringe, needle, intra-nasally, or any similar |
| instrument adapted for the administration of drugs shall be required to be tested for HIV unless |
| already documented HIV positive. |
| (9) All individuals tested under this section shall be informed of their test results. |
| (10) In accordance with the provisions of chapter 37 of title 11, entitled, “Sexual Assault,” |
| any individual who has admitted to or been convicted of or adjudicated wayward or delinquent by |
| reason of having committed any sexual offense involving penetration whether or not a sentence or |
| fine is imposed or probation granted, shall be ordered by the court upon petition of the victim, |
| immediate family members of the victim or legal guardian of the victim, to submit to a blood test |
| for the presence of a sexually transmitted disease including, but not limited to, HIV. All individuals |
| tested under this section shall be informed of their test results. |
| (11) In accordance with the provisions orof § 42-56-37, entitled “HIV Testing,” every |
| individual who is committed to the adult correctional institutions to any criminal offense, after |
| conviction, is required to be tested for HIV. |
| (b) It is unlawful for any person to disclose to a third party the results of an individual’s |
| HIV test without the prior written consent of that individual, except in accordance with § 23-6.3-7. |
| SECTION 2. Section 11-34.1-12 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-34.1 entitled |
| "Commercial Sexual Activity" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
| 11-34.1-12. Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). |
| (a) Any person convicted of a violation of any provisions of this chapter shall be required |
| provided the option to be tested for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). No consent for the |
| testing shall be required. |
| (b) The department of health shall maintain sites for providing both anonymous and |
| confidential HIV testing, and HIV counseling and referral. Each site, funded by the department of |
| health, shall offer free testing, counseling, and referral for indigent parties and other individuals |
| without health insurance, offer a sliding scale for payment for all other individuals and, in the case |
| of confidential testing, screen for ability to pay through a third-party insurer. In the case of |
| nonfunded sites for HIV testing, organizations and/or institutions performing the test shall offer |
| free testing, counseling, and referral for indigent parties and other individuals without health |
| insurance. |
| (c) All persons tested under this section shall be provided pre-test and post-test counseling |
| by individuals trained by the department of health, as an HIV testing counselor, in accordance with |
| regulations promulgated by the department of health; provided, that the counseling shall be in |
| accordance with acceptable medical standards. |
| (d) All persons who are tested under this section, who are determined to be injecting drug |
| users, shall be referred to appropriate sources of substance abuse treatment by the HIV testing |
| counselor and/or the attending practitioner as follows: |
| (1) Those persons who test positive for HIV infection shall be given priority for those |
| outpatient substance abuse treatment programs that are sponsored or supported by the appropriate |
| state agency responsible for these services. |
| (2) Those persons who are injecting drug users and test negative for HIV infection shall be |
| referred, by the HIV testing counselor and/or attending practitioner, to the appropriate state agency |
| responsible for these services for earliest possible evaluation and treatment. |
| SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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| LC001002 |
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