Bill > H1701

This bill amends existing law to address the testing of sexual assault evidence kits. The key provisions are: 1. It requires all previously untested investigatory sexual assault evidence kits to be submitted to law enforcement within 180 days of the bill's effective date. Non-investigatory kits must be safely stored by a governmental entity. 2. Within 180 days of enactment, law enforcement agencies and crime laboratories must count and report all untested kits in their possession to the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. 3. Law enforcement agencies must submit all previously untested investigatory sexual assault evidence kits, including those past the statute of limitations, to the crime laboratory within the Department of State Police or an accredited private crime laboratory. 4. The designated crime laboratories must test all previously untested investigatory sexual assault kits within 180 days of receipt from local law enforcement. Public crime labs must also test all previously untested kits in their possession prior to this act, within 180 days. 5. The crime labs, in conjunction with the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, must create a public report by January 1, 2022, detailing the total number of untested investigatory kits received from each law enforcement agency and the number of untested kits the lab had in its possession prior to this act.

Justice

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/192/H1701