II 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3250 

To amend the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 to provide 

for Debbie Smith grants for auditing sexual assault evidence backlogs 

and to establish a Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Registry, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 24, 2012 

Mr. CORNYN (for himself, Mr. BENNET, Mr. KIRK, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. 

FRANKEN, and Ms. COLLINS) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 

2000 to provide for Debbie Smith grants for auditing 

sexual assault evidence backlogs and to establish a Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Registry, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sexual Assault Foren5 sic Evidence Registry Act of 2012’’ or the ‘‘SAFER Act 

6 of 2012’’. 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 3250 IS

1 SEC. 2. DEBBIE SMITH GRANTS FOR AUDITING SEXUAL AS2 SAULT EVIDENCE BACKLOGS. 

3 Section 2 of the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination 

4 Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14135) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 

6 following new paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(6) To conduct an audit consistent with sub8 section (n) of the samples of sexual assault evidence 

9 that are in the possession of the State or unit of 

10 local government and are awaiting testing.’’; 

11 (2) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the 

12 following new paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(4) ALLOCATION OF GRANT AWARDS FOR AU14 DITS.—For each of fiscal years 2013 through 2017, 

15 not less than 7 percent of the grant amounts distrib16 uted under paragraph (1) shall, if sufficient applica17 tions are received by the Department of Justice, be 

18 awarded for the purpose described in subsection 

19 (a)(6), provided that none of the funds required to 

20 be distributed under this paragraph shall decrease or 

21 otherwise limit the availability of funds required to 

22 be awarded to States or units of local government 

23 under paragraph (3).’’; and 

24 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub25 section: 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 3250 IS

1 ‘‘(n) USE OF FUNDS FOR AUDITING SEXUAL AS2 SAULT EVIDENCE BACKLOGS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBILITY.—The Attorney General may 

4 award a grant under this section to a State or unit 

5 of local government for the purpose described in 

6 subsection (a)(6) only if the State or unit of local 

7 government— 

8 ‘‘(A) submits a plan for performing the 

9 audit of samples described in such subsection; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(B) includes in such plan a good-faith es12 timate of the number of such samples. 

13 ‘‘(2) GRANT CONDITIONS.—A State or unit of 

14 local government receiving a grant for the purpose 

15 described in subsection (a)(6)— 

16 ‘‘(A) may not enter into any contract or 

17 agreement with any non-governmental vendor 

18 laboratory to conduct an audit described in sub19 section (a)(6); and 

20 ‘‘(B) shall— 

21 ‘‘(i) not later than 1 year after receiv22 ing such grant— 

23 ‘‘(I) complete the audit referred 

24 to in paragraph (1)(A) in accordance 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 3250 IS

1 with the plan submitted under such 

2 paragraph; and 

3 ‘‘(II) for each sample of sexual 

4 assault evidence identified in such 

5 audit, subject to paragraph (4), enter 

6 into the Sexual Assault Forensic Evi7 dence Registry established under sub8 section (o) the information listed in 

9 subsection (o)(2); 

10 ‘‘(ii) not later than 21 days after re11 ceiving possession of a sample of sexual as12 sault evidence that was not in the posses13 sion of the State or unit of local govern14 ment at the time of such audit, subject to 

15 paragraph (4), enter into the Sexual As16 sault Forensic Evidence Registry the infor17 mation listed in subsection (o)(2) with re18 spect to the sample; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) not later than 30 days after a 

20 change in the status referred to in sub21 section (o)(2)(A)(v) of a sample with re22 spect to which the State or unit of local 

23 government has entered information into 

24 such Registry, update such status. 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 3250 IS

1 ‘‘(3) EXTENSION OF INITIAL DEADLINE.—The 

2 Attorney General may grant an extension of the 

3 deadline under paragraph (2)(B)(i) to a State or 

4 unit of local government that demonstrates that 

5 more time is required for compliance with such para6 graph. 

7 ‘‘(4) SAMPLES EXEMPT FROM REGISTRY RE8 QUIREMENT.—A State or unit of local government is 

9 not required under paragraph (2) to enter into the 

10 Registry described in such paragraph information 

11 with respect to a sample of sexual assault evidence 

12 if— 

13 ‘‘(A) the sample is not considered criminal 

14 evidence (such as a sample collected anony15 mously from a victim who is unwilling to make 

16 a criminal complaint); or 

17 ‘‘(B) the sample relates to a sexual assault 

18 for which the prosecution of each perpetrator is 

19 barred by a statute of limitations. 

20 ‘‘(5) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

21 ‘‘(A) AWAITING TESTING.—The term 

22 ‘awaiting testing’ means, with respect to a sam23 ple of sexual assault evidence, that— 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 3250 IS

1 ‘‘(i) the sample has been collected and 

2 is in the possession of a State or unit of 

3 local government; 

4 ‘‘(ii) DNA and other appropriate fo5 rensic analyses have not been performed on 

6 such sample; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) the sample is related to a crimi8 nal case or investigation in which final dis9 position has not yet been reached. 

10 ‘‘(B) FINAL DISPOSITION.—The term ‘final 

11 disposition’ means, with respect to a criminal 

12 case or investigation to which a sample of sex13 ual assault evidence relates— 

14 ‘‘(i) the conviction or acquittal of all 

15 suspected perpetrators of the crime in16 volved; 

17 ‘‘(ii) a determination by the State or 

18 unit of local government in possession of 

19 the sample that the case is unfounded; or 

20 ‘‘(iii) a declaration by the victim of 

21 the crime involved that the act constituting 

22 the basis of the crime was not committed. 

23 ‘‘(C) POSSESSION.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘posses25 sion’, used with respect to possession of a 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 3250 IS

1 sample of sexual assault evidence by a 

2 State or unit of local government, includes 

3 possession by an individual who is acting 

4 as an agent of the State or unit of local 

5 government for the collection of the sam6 ple. 

7 ‘‘(ii) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

8 Nothing in clause (i) shall be construed to 

9 create or amend any Federal rights or 

10 privileges for non-governmental vendor lab11 oratories described in regulations promul12 gated under section 210303 of the DNA 

13 Identification Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 

14 14131).’’. 

15 SEC. 3. SEXUAL ASSAULT FORENSIC EVIDENCE REGISTRY. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2 of the DNA Analysis 

17 Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14135), as 

18 amended by section 2, is further amended by adding at 

19 the end the following new subsection: 

20 ‘‘(o) SEXUAL ASSAULT FORENSIC EVIDENCE REG21 ISTRY.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (j), 

23 not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 

24 the SAFER Act of 2012, the Attorney General shall 

25 establish a Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence RegVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:51 May 29, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3250.IS S3250

srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 3250 IS

1 istry (in this subsection referred to as the ‘Registry’) 

2 that— 

3 ‘‘(A) is administered by the Department of 

4 Justice; 

5 ‘‘(B) allows States and units of local gov6 ernment to enter information into the Registry 

7 about samples of sexual assault evidence that 

8 are in the possession of such States or units of 

9 local government and are awaiting testing; and 

10 ‘‘(C) tracks the testing and processing of 

11 such samples. 

12 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION IN REGISTRY.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State or unit of 

14 local government that chooses to enter informa15 tion into the Registry about a sample of sexual 

16 assault evidence shall include the following in17 formation: 

18 ‘‘(i) The date of the sexual assault to 

19 which the sample relates. 

20 ‘‘(ii) The city, county, or other appro21 priate locality in which the sexual assault 

22 occurred. 

23 ‘‘(iii) The date on which the sample 

24 was collected. 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 3250 IS

1 ‘‘(iv) The date on which information 

2 relating to the sample was entered into the 

3 Registry. 

4 ‘‘(v) The status of the progression of 

5 the sample through testing and other 

6 stages of the evidentiary handling process, 

7 limited to the following information: 

8 ‘‘(I) The identity of the entity in 

9 possession of the sample of untested 

10 sexual assault evidence. 

11 ‘‘(II) The identification of the 

12 sample of untested sexual assault evi13 dence by the State or unit of local 

14 government. 

15 ‘‘(III) The submission of the 

16 sample of untested sexual assault evi17 dence to a laboratory for analysis, or 

18 the decision of the State or unit of 

19 local government to indefinitely re20 frain from submitting the sample. 

21 ‘‘(IV) The completion of the 

22 analysis of the sample of untested sex23 ual assault evidence, or the decision of 

24 the State or unit of local government 

25 to indefinitely refrain from analyzing 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 3250 IS

1 the sample of untested sexual assault 

2 evidence. 

3 ‘‘(vi) The date or dates after which 

4 the State or unit of local government 

5 would be barred by any applicable statutes 

6 of limitations from prosecuting a perpe7 trator of the sexual assault for the sexual 

8 assault. 

9 ‘‘(B) PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFOR10 MATION.—The Attorney General shall ensure 

11 that the Registry does not include personally 

12 identifiable information or details about a sex13 ual assault that might lead to the identification 

14 of the individuals involved, except for the infor15 mation listed in subparagraph (A). 

16 ‘‘(3) SAMPLE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State or unit of 

18 local government that chooses to enter informa19 tion about a sample of sexual assault evidence 

20 into the Registry shall assign to the sample a 

21 unique numeric or alphanumeric identifier. 

22 ‘‘(B) UNIQUE IDENTIFIER REQUIRED.—In 

23 assigning the identifier under subparagraph 

24 (A), a State or unit of local government may 

25 use a case-numbering system used for other 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 3250 IS

1 purposes, but the Attorney General shall ensure 

2 that the identifier assigned to each sample is 

3 unique with respect to all samples entered by 

4 all States and units of local government. 

5 ‘‘(4) UPDATE OF INFORMATION.—A State or 

6 unit of local government that chooses to enter infor7 mation about a sample of sexual assault evidence 

8 into the Registry shall, not later than 30 days after 

9 a change in the status of the sample referred to in 

10 paragraph (2)(A)(v), update such status. 

11 ‘‘(5) INTERNET ACCESS.—The Attorney Gen12 eral shall make publicly available, on an appropriate 

13 Internet website, aggregate non-individualized and 

14 non-personally identifying data compiled from infor15 mation required to be entered into the Registry 

16 under paragraph (2)(A), to allow for comparison of 

17 backlog data by State and unit of local government. 

18 ‘‘(6) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Attorney 

19 General shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) provide a means by which an entity 

21 that does not have access to the Internet may 

22 enter information into the Registry; and 

23 ‘‘(B) provide the technical assistance nec24 essary to allow States and units of local govern25 ment to participate in the Registry. 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 3250 IS

1 ‘‘(7) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

2 this subsection shall be construed to require that 

3 any State or unit of local government participate in 

4 the Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Registry es5 tablished under this subsection unless the State or 

6 unit of local government— 

7 ‘‘(A) accepts a grant awarded under sub8 section (n); or 

9 ‘‘(B) the State or unit of local government 

10 expressly agrees to participate in the registry in 

11 accordance with this conditions enumerated in 

12 this subsection.’’. 

13 (b) FUNDING.—Section 2(j) of the DNA Analysis 

14 Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14135(j)) is 

15 amended— 

16 (1) by inserting ‘‘and for carrying out sub17 section (o)’’ after ‘‘for grants under subsection (a)’’; 

18 and 

19 (2) by adding at the end the following new sen20 tence: ‘‘For each of fiscal years 2013 through 2017, 

21 not less than 1 percent of the amount authorized to 

22 be appropriated under the previous sentence for such 

23 fiscal year shall be for carrying out subsection (o).’’ 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 3250 IS

1 SEC. 4. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

2 Not later than 90 days after the end of each fiscal 

3 year for which a grant is made for the purpose described 

4 in section 2(a)(6) of the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimi5 nation Act of 2000, as by section 2, the Attorney General 

6 shall submit to Congress a report that— 

7 (1) lists the States and units of local govern8 ment that have been awarded such grants and the 

9 amount of the grant received by each such State or 

10 unit of local government; 

11 (2) states the number of extensions granted by 

12 the Attorney General under section 2(n)(3) of the 

13 DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000, as 

14 added by section 2; and 

15 (3) summarizes the processing status of the 

16 samples of sexual assault evidence about which in17 formation has been entered into the Sexual Assault 

18 Forensic Evidence Registry established under section 

19 2(o) of the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act 

20 of 2000, as added by section 3(a), including the 

21 number of samples that have not been tested. 

22 SEC. 5. REDUCING THE RAPE KIT BACKLOG. 

23 Section 2(c)(3) of the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimi24 nation Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14135(c)(3)) is amended— 

25 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘2014’’ 

26 and inserting ‘‘2017’’; and 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 3250 IS

1 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(C) For each of fiscal years 2013 through 

3 2017, not less than 75 percent of the total 

4 grant amounts shall be awarded for a combina5 tion of purposes under paragraphs (2) and (3) 

6 of subsection (a).’’. 

Æ 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS