Roadrunner Capitol Reports
Legislation Detail

HB 151/a POST-SECONDARY AFFIRMATIVE CONSENT POLICIES

Rep Elizabeth "Liz" Thomson

Actions: [2] not prntd-HRC [3] w/drn-prntd-ref- HHHC-HHHC [5] DP [9] PASSED/H (44-17) [6] SEC/SJC-SEC [7] DP-SJC [12] DP/a [13] PASSED/S (24-13) [15] h/cncrd SGND BY GOV (Mar. 1) Ch. 34.

Scheduled: Not Scheduled

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Summary:
 House Bill 151 (HB 151) requires universities and colleges receiving state funding to adopt policies and procedures to prevent sexual assaults, domestic violence, dating violence, and harassment or stalking. 
Legislation Overview:
 House Bill 151 (HB 151) requires colleges and universities who receive student financial aid from the state to adopt trauma-informed policies and responses to investigations of alleged sexual assaults, domestic violence, dating violence, and harassment or stalking involving students, faculty, employees, regents, or contractors.

Policies and procedures must include:
•	Affirmative consent (voluntary agreement) standards for all parties engaged in sexual activity.
•	Confirm all parties are responsible to ensure that consent has been given.
•	Stipulations when consent cannot be given by someone, i.e., sleeping, unconscious, incapacitated due to drugs, or unable to communicate due to a mental of physical condition. 
•	Consent cannot be implied or assumed from silence or lack of resistance.
•	Consent can be revoked at any time.
•	Prior relationships or sexual relations cannot by itself be an indicator of consent.
•	Standards used in determining evidence contained in complaints.
•	Policies to ensure privacy and confidentiality of parties.
•	No parties’ conduct is disciplined unless the violation is egregious or places others at risk.
•	Comprehensive, trauma-informed response training.
•	Complaint response procedures.

Colleges and universities must enter into agreements with existing organizations, i.e. rape crisis centers, to refer parties for services at no cost. They must implement comprehensive prevention and outreach programs.

Trauma-informed policy and responses consider and understand complexities of dating violence, domestic assault, sexual assault, and harassment or stalking including impact of trauma, myths, stereotypes, perpetration methodology, and how to conduct an effective investigation. 

HB 151 does not have an effective date. If passed and signed into law, the assumed effective date is 90 days after the end of the session, May 15.
 
Amendments:
 Amended February 13, 2024 in SJC:

SJCa/HB 151: The Senate Judiciary Committee amends House Bill 151 as follows:

Section 1. Policies and Procedures Addressing Affirmative Consent. This section was amended to broaden policies by removing limiting acts: sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and harassment or stalking.

New policies and procedures required of colleges and universities include the following:
•	Reference an affirmative consent standard when determining consent by all parties.
•	Stipulations when consent cannot be given by someone, i.e., sleeping, unconscious, incapacitated due to drugs, or unable to communicate due to a mental of physical condition; cannot be implied or assumed; and can be revoked at any time.
•	Specify that a dating relationship or sexual relations do not constitute affirmative consent.
•	Protection of parties involved in investigations.
•	Parties will not be subject to swift disciplinary sanctions unless the behavior is so egregious that health and safety is compromised or in the case of plagiarism, cheating, or academic dishonesty.
•	Training requirement for anyone investigating allegations.
•	Implementation of prevention programs with strategies, awareness campaigns, prevention, bystander intervention, and risk reduction.
•	Advise students of policies and procedures on affirmative consent and include in their orientations.

Definitions include the following:
•	Affirmative consent means affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity.
•	Trauma-informed policy means a program that considers the widespread impact of trauma and paths for recovery; recognizes the signs of trauma; responds by integrating knowledge about trauma into policies, procedures, and practices; and purposefully resists further or re-traumatization.
•	Trauma-informed response means a response involving an understanding of the complexities of dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, harassment, and stalking through training centered on neurobiological impact of trauma, the influence of myths and stereotypes around causes and impacts of trauma with an understanding of perpetration methodology, and how to conduct an effective investigation.