Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the need for State legislatures to pass comprehensive sexual assault kit reforms by 2021.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 81 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the need for State legislatures to pass comprehensive sexual assault kit reforms by 2021. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 28, 2019 Mr. JOYCE of Ohio (for himself, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, Mr. KATKO, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. TURNER, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. BALDERSON, and Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regard- ing the need for State legislatures to pass comprehensive sexual assault kit reforms by 2021. Whereas survivors of sexual assault may undergo an hours- long sexual assault forensic exam to preserve DNA evi- dence; Whereas many sexual assault kits across the country remain untested; Whereas untested sexual assault kits represent individuals who have been denied the opportunity to seek justice and begin healing; VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:59 Jan 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR81.IH HR81 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HRES 81 IH Whereas testing sexual assault kits may help law enforcement officials identify repeat offenders and serial rapists; Whereas the testing of 11,341 sexual assault kits in Detroit has resulted in 2,616 DNA matches and the identifica- tion of more than 800 potential serial rapists, and the DNA samples from the kits tested in Detroit are linked to other violent crimes committed in 40 States and the District of Columbia; Whereas ending the sexual assault kit backlog requires the commitment of Federal, State, and local governments and their partners; and Whereas in 2016, the Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education at Case Western Reserve Uni- versity, in partnership with the Cuyahoga County Pros- ecutor Office, analyzed the cost of testing backlogged sex- ual assault kits in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and found that each kit tested produces an estimated net savings to the community of $8,893 and testing 4,347 kits produces an estimated net savings of $38,700,000: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep- 1 resentatives that State legislatures should pass sexual as- 2 sault kit reform legislation that requires— 3 (1) the State to establish collaborations with 4 State and local sexual assault advocates, sexual as- 5 sault nurse examiners, law enforcement officers, and 6 others to ensure that— 7 (A) a sexual assault advocate is made 8 available to sexual assault survivors upon a re- 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:59 Jan 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR81.IH HR81 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HRES 81 IH port to law enforcement, during a sexual as- 1 sault forensic exam, and for ongoing support 2 and services; 3 (B) sexual assault survivors are notified of 4 their rights and kit results in a trauma-in- 5 formed manner, in collaboration with sexual as- 6 sault advocates; and 7 (C) policies and procedures pertaining to 8 sexual assault kit examinations, testing, and no- 9 tification are victim-centered and developed col- 10 laboratively across victim advocacy, medical, 11 law enforcement, and other sexual assault re- 12 sponse team partners; 13 (2) the State to conduct an annual statewide 14 audit to inventory all untested sexual assault kits 15 with the goal of understanding the scope of the 16 problem and to monitor progress in eliminating the 17 backlog of previously unsubmitted and untested kits; 18 (3) law enforcement agencies to submit all pre- 19 viously untested sexual assault kits to a laboratory 20 and mandates that the laboratory test these kits for 21 DNA within a specific timeframe and upload the re- 22 sults into appropriate State and Federal databases; 23 (4) law enforcement agencies to promptly sub- 24 mit all newly collected kits that have been released 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:59 Jan 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR81.IH HR81 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HRES 81 IH for testing to the laboratory and mandates that the 1 laboratory test these kits for DNA within a specific 2 timeframe and upload the results into appropriate 3 State and Federal databases; 4 (5) the State to develop a sexual assault kit 5 tracking system that includes a mechanism for sur- 6 vivors to check the status of their kits through the 7 process, from collection to analysis, and ensure that 8 hospitals, law enforcement, and laboratories are 9 using the same system to track sexual assault kits; 10 (6) the State to have the appropriate mecha- 11 nisms to notify survivors about their right to know 12 the status and location of their sexual assault kits 13 and their case; and 14 (7) the State to contribute appropriate and sus- 15 tainable funding to address issues related to the 16 unsubmitted and untested sexual assault kit backlog, 17 including trauma-informed support services for sur- 18 vivors. 19 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:59 Jan 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR81.IH HR81 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS