IV 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 550 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the need 

for State legislatures to pass comprehensive sexual assault kit reforms 

by 2020. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 2, 2017 

Mr. MEEHAN (for himself, Ms. SPEIER, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, Mr. 

JOYCE of Ohio, Mrs. MIMI WALTERS of California, Mr. BRENDAN F. 

BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, and Mr. DONOVAN) 

submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 

on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the need for State legislatures to pass comprehensive 

sexual assault kit reforms by 2020. 

Whereas survivors of sexual assault may undergo an hourslong sexual assault forensic exam to preserve DNA evidence; 

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; 


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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 identification of 801 potential serial rapists so far, 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 University, in partnership with the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Office, analyzed the cost of testing backlogged sexual 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 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that State legislatures should pass sexual as3 sault kit reform legislation that requires— 

4 (1) the State to establish collaborations with 

5 State and local sexual assault advocates, sexual as6 sault nurse examiners, law enforcement officers, and 

7 others to ensure that— 

8 (A) a sexual assault advocate is made 

9 available to sexual assault survivors upon a reVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Oct 03, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR550.IH HR550

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1 port to law enforcement, during a sexual as2 sault forensic exam, and for ongoing support 

3 and services; 

4 (B) sexual assault survivors are notified of 

5 their rights and kit results in a trauma-in6 formed manner, in collaboration with sexual as7 sault advocates; and 

8 (C) policies and procedures pertaining to 

9 sexual assault kit examinations, testing, and no10 tification are victim-centered and developed col11 laboratively across victim advocacy, medical, 

12 law enforcement, and other sexual assault re13 sponse team partners; 

14 (2) the State to conduct an annual statewide 

15 audit to inventory all untested sexual assault kits 

16 with the goal of understanding the scope of the 

17 problem and to monitor progress in eliminating the 

18 backlog of previously unsubmitted and untested kits; 

19 (3) law enforcement agencies to submit all pre20 viously untested sexual assault kits to a laboratory 

21 and mandates that the laboratory test these kits for 

22 DNA within a specific timeframe and upload the re23 sults into appropriate State and Federal databases; 

24 (4) law enforcement agencies to promptly sub25 mit all newly collected kits that have been released 


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1 for testing to the laboratory and mandates that the 

2 laboratory test these kits for DNA within a specific 

3 timeframe and upload the results into appropriate 

4 State and Federal databases; 

5 (5) the State to develop a sexual assault kit 

6 tracking system that includes a mechanism for sur7 vivors to check the status of their kits through the 

8 process, from collection to analysis, and ensure that 

9 hospitals, law enforcement, and laboratories are 

10 using the same system to track sexual assault kits; 

11 (6) the State to have the appropriate mecha12 nisms to notify survivors about their right to know 

13 the status and location of their sexual assault kits 

14 and their case; and 

15 (7) the State to contribute appropriate and sus16 tainable funding to address issues related to the 

17 unsubmitted and untested sexual assault kit backlog, 

18 including trauma-informed support services for sur19 vivors. 

Æ 


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