After a decade of trying, two bills to end rape kit backlog move forward

After repeated attempts over the past decade, two bills aimed at addressing the timeliness of DNA analysis of rape kits and the mounting backlog of untested kits in California were passed Friday from by the state Senate Appropriations Committee.

Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco, who sponsored the bill requiring law enforcement agencies and crime laboratories that store sexual assault evidence to conduct an audit of all backlogged kits, said he was pleased the bills are moving forward.

“Over the last decade, there have been at least half a dozen bills involving untested rape kits that were vetoed, watered down or otherwise stalled for a variety of reasons.” Chiu said.

“Both of these bills will hopefully address the backlog from the past and ensure the future is dealt with as well.”

“We have known about the backlog of untested rape kits in our state and in our country for years and failed to address it,” said Chiu, who authored AB 3118. “In 2015, President Obama’s administration estimated that there are over 400,000 untested rape kits in the country.”

Senate Bill 1449, sponsored by state Sen. Connie Leyva, D-Chino, appropriates $2 million from the General Fund to the Department of Justice to allocate to local law enforcement agencies to help ensure all new rape kits are tested in a timely manner.

Also, it will require law enforcement to either submit sexual assault forensic evidence to a crime lab or ensure that a rapid turnaround DNA program is in place.

“I am thrilled that SB 1449 passed from the Senate Appropriations Committee’s suspense file today,” Leyva said in a statement.

“All rape victims deserve to have their rape kits tested promptly so that we can ensure justice and help to put rapists behind bars,” she added.

Sean Hoffman, director of legislation for the California District Attorneys Association, which is sponsoring the bills, said both are important in the way they work together.

“AB 3118 helps us address the backlog so we can see how big this problem is.” Hoffman said.

“[A]nd 1449 is important … because we owe it to the victim who has been subjected to a fairly invasive examination which has produced this biological evidence. … We owe it to them to make sure that it is tested,” he added.