Plans to speed up DNA testing in suspected rape cases are moving in the Florida Legislature, following revelations that thousands of evidence kits remain untested statewide.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, on Monday the Senate Criminal Justice Committee unanimously passed a measure (SB 636) that would establish time limits for local agencies to submit sexual assault kits to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for testing.
The vote came after a FDLE report earlier this month showed the state has more than 13,000 untested rape kits.
The House version (HB 179), filed by Rep. Janet Adkins, R-Fernandina Beach, has passed one panel and faces two more.
"All I know is that we are going to make sure that this bill passes, and that it is not an optional question moving forward, that they will be submitted and tested in a very timely fashion," said Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto, R-Fort Myers, who filed the Senate measure. "And we think that 120 days is long enough for someone to wait to make sure that the person that committed that crime against them --- that they can be brought to justice."
The state currently does not require kits to be submitted for testing. That decision has rested with local law-enforcement agencies.
The new measures would require any evidence collected in rape investigations to be submitted for testing within 21 days of being received by law enforcement agencies, or after notification by victims or victims' representatives that they wish the evidence to be tested.
The report came after Attorney General Pam Bondi called on lawmakers last September to increase funding for crime labs to address the testing backlog.
"We must ensure we are able to test all DNA evidence, including sexual assault kits, in a timely manner, and this legislation will help expedite the process,” Bondi said in a statement on Monday.