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; 
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•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-
resentatives that State legislatures should pass sexual as-
sault kit reform legislation that requires— 
(1) the State to establish collaborations with 
State and local sexual assault advocates, sexual as-
sault nurse examiners, law enforcement officers, and 
others to ensure that— 
(A) a sexual assault advocate is made 
available to sexual assault survivors upon a re-
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port to law enforcement, during a sexual as-
sault forensic exam, and for ongoing support 
and services; 
(B) sexual assault survivors are notified of 
their rights and kit results in a trauma-in-
formed manner, in collaboration with sexual as-
sault advocates; and 
(C) policies and procedures pertaining to 
sexual assault kit examinations, testing, and no-
tification are victim-centered and developed col-
laboratively across victim advocacy, medical, 
law enforcement, and other sexual assault re-
sponse team partners; 
(2) the State to conduct an annual statewide 
audit to inventory all untested sexual assault kits 
with the goal of understanding the scope of the 
problem and to monitor progress in eliminating the 
backlog of previously unsubmitted and untested kits; 
(3) law enforcement agencies to submit all pre-
viously untested sexual assault kits to a laboratory 
and mandates that the laboratory test these kits for 
DNA within a specific timeframe and upload the re-
sults into appropriate State and Federal databases; 
(4) law enforcement agencies to promptly sub-
mit all newly collected kits that have been released 
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for testing to the laboratory and mandates that the 
laboratory test these kits for DNA within a specific 
timeframe and upload the results into appropriate 
State and Federal databases; 
(5) the State to develop a sexual assault kit 
tracking system that includes a mechanism for sur-
vivors to check the status of their kits through the 
process, from collection to analysis, and ensure that 
hospitals, law enforcement, and laboratories are 
using the same system to track sexual assault kits; 
(6) the State to have the appropriate mecha-
nisms to notify survivors about their right to know 
the status and location of their sexual assault kits 
and their case; and 
(7) the State to contribute appropriate and sus-
tainable funding to address issues related to the 
unsubmitted and untested sexual assault kit backlog, 
including trauma-informed support services for sur-
vivors. 
Æ 
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