An Act to Establish a Statewide Sexual Assault Forensic Examination Kit Tracking System and Conduct an Inventory of Existing Forensic Examination Kits in the Possession of Law Enforcement
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 2129
Committee Amendment CA_B_H905 (House)
Amends: 25 MRSA §3821

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT '^ » to H.P, 1353, L.D. 2129, "An Act to Establish
a Statewide Sexual Assault Forensic Examination Kit Tracking System and Conduct an
Inventory of Existing Forensic Examination Kits in the Possession of Law Enforcement"
Amend the bill in section 1 in subsection 3 by adding at the end a new blocked
paragraph to read:
'A law enforcement agency shall store a completed forensic examination kit involving
sexual assault for 20 years regardless of whether the alleged offense is reported to a law
enforcement agency.'
Amend the bill in section 2 in §2915-A in subsection 1 in paragraph A in the 2nd line
(page 2, line 4 in L,D.) by striking out the following: "a laboratory licensed to provide" and
inserting the following: another laboratory that provides
Amend the bill in section 2 in §2915-A in subsection 1 in paragraph C in the first line
(page 2, line 7 in L.D.) by inserting after the following: "examination kit"" the following;
'or "kit"'
Amend the bill in section 2 in §2915-A by striking out all of subsection 2 (page 2, lines
20 to 40 and page 3, lines 1 to 4 in L,D,) and inserting the following;
'2. Forensic examination kit tracking system. Thedepailnient shall establish,
operate and maintain a tracking system for all completed forensic examination kits,
regardless of whether the alleged offense relating to the kit was reported to a law
enforcement agency, that is continuously accessible to approved users,
A. The department shall establish, operate and maintain the tracking system through
the use of department personnel and resources and, toaccomplish those_dyties, may
contract_wjth public or private entities, including, but not lunited to, software and
technology providers,
B, Approved users must adhere to the following procedures when entering information
for each kit into the tracking system, which must, at a mmmium^oll^^
information,
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ROS COMMITTEE AMENDMENT " h " to H.P. 1353, L.D. 2129
(DA crime laboratory must enter intoth e_tracking system each new and unused
kit and record the kit's intended destination before the kit leaves the possession of
the crime laboratory,
f2') A licensed health care provider must enter into the tracking system the date it
receives each kit from a crime laboratory.
(3) A licensed health care provider must identify when a kit was used for evidence
collection and enter into the tracking system the date when the kit was used,
f4) A licensed health care provider must identify when a completed kit is
transferred to_ajaw enforcement agency and to which law enforcement_agencv it
is transferred and enter into the tracking system the date when the kit was
transferred.
f5) A licensed health_care proyider must identify when a kit is discardedbased on
damage to the kit or its use in training and enter into the tracking system the date
on which the kit was discarded,
C6) A Jaw enforcement agency must enter into the tracking system the date it
receives a completed kit and the location where the completed kit is being stored.
(T) A law enforcement agency in possession of a completed kit must enter into the
tracking system the date that law enforcement agency reports to a prosecuting
attorney that a forensic examination has been performed pursuant to Title 24.
section 29 8 6.
f8) A crime laboratory must identify when it has conducted an analysis of a
completed kit and enter into the tracking system the date of the analysis.
(9) A law enforcement agency that receives a kit after analysis from a crime
laboratory must identify when it received the kit and whether that Jut wasjrtQred or
destroyed.
C. The tracking system must provide for the updating and tracking of a forensic
examination kit as follows,
d) An alleged, victim of sejiUaLa^ from whom forensic evidence has been
collected using a kit must have access to the tracking system on an anonymous and
secure basis for the purposes of receiving updates regarding the kit and tracking
the status of the kit,
C2) A licensed health care provider, law enforcement agency, prosecuting attorney
or any other entity in possession of a kit must have access to the tracking system
for the purposes of entering. updating and tracking the status and location of the
kit'
6 Amend the bill in section 2 in §2915-A by striking out all of subsection 5 (page 3, lines
12 to 34 in L,D.) and inserting the following;
'5. Report. The department shall rep_ort to the joint standing committee of the
Legislature having jurisdiction over criminal justice and public safety matters and the
Governor by January 1, 2026,_and annually thereafter, regardine the tracking system. The
report may include recommendations from the department for improved operation_ofthe
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
ROS COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "^ " toH.P, 1353, L.D, 2129
tracking system and must include the following information, identified by the county from
which a forensic examination kit was entered into the tracking system:
A, The number of reported kits and the number of anonymous kits in the tracking
system and, of those kits, the number on which analysis has been completed and the
number on which analysis has not been completed;
B, The number of reported kits and the number of anonymous kits entered into the
tracking system during the prior calendar year and^QfthQse kits. the number on which
analysis has been completed and the number on whichanalvsis has not been completed;
C. The average and median lengths of time for forensic examination kits to be sent for
analysis after being entered into the tracking system and for analysis to be completed;
and
D, The number of reported forensic examination kits entered into the tracking system
for more than one year for which analysis has not been completed ,
The State Police_ and any other law enforcement agencv that performs its duties in more
than one county shall provide to the department tracking information for each county where
a forensic examination kit was entered into the tracking system.'
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 3 and inserting the following;
'See. 3. 25 MRSA §3821, 2nd ^, as amended by PL 2023, c. 236, §1, is further
amended to read:
If an alleged victim of sexual assault or strangulation has a forensic examination and
has not reported the alleged offense to a law enforcement agency when the examination is
complete, the licensed hospital or licensed health care practitioner that completed the
forensic examination shall notify the nearest law enforcement agency, That law
enforcement agency shall transport the completed forensic examination kit, identified only
by a tracking number assigned by the kit manufacturer, to its evidence storage facility. If
an alleged victim of sexual assault or strangulation has a forensic examination and has
reported the alleged offense to a law enforcement agency when the examination is
complete, or the alleged victim reports the alleged offense after the forensic exammation
kit has been transported to the nearest law enforcement agency, the law enforcement agency
investigating the offense shall take possession of that kit, ¥he A law enforcement agency
shall store the forensic examination kits involving sexual assault for 20 years and forensic
examination kits involving only strangulation for 6 years, regardless of whether the alleged
offense relatine to the kit is reported to a law enforcement agency. If during that storage
period the alleged victim reports the offense to a law enforcement agency, the investigating
agency shall take possession of the forensic examination kit,
Sec. 4. Sexual assault forensic examination kit inventory. By June 1, 2025,
all law enforcement agencies that receive, maintain, store or preserve forensic examination
8 kits shall complete an inventory of all kits in their possession and shall report their findings
to the Department of Public Safety, At a minimum, reported findings to the department
must include a breakdown by year by each agency of the number of;
1. Reported and anonymous kits received;
2. Reported kits that were never analyzed; and
3. Reported kits returned after analysis,
Page3-131LR2786(03)
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT " h" to H.P. 1353, L.D, 2129
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The department shall compile all agency findings and present a report of the inventory
by January 1, 2027 to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction
over criminal justice and public safety matters. At the same time, the department shall post
the report on its publicly accessible website,
Sec. 5. Stakeholder group. Upon the completion of the one-year United States
Department of Justice Services, Training, Officers, and Prosecutors Violence Against
Women Formula Grant Program funded pilot project to identify and implement resources
necessaiy to establish a tracking system for sexual assault forensic examination kits from
Kennebec and Penobscot counties, the Department of Public Safety shall convene a
stakeholder group to assist the department in the implementation of the sexual assault
forensic examination kit tracking program established in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title
25, section 2915-A, The stakeholder group shall consist of, at a minimum, one person
representing municipal law enforcement agencies, one person representing sheriffs offices
and one person representing campus law enforcement agencies.
Sec. 6. Effective date. That section of this Act that enacts the Maine Revised
Statutes, Title 25, section 2915-A takes effect January 1, 2026,'
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section
number to read consecutively,
SUMMARY
This amendment, which is the minority report of the committee, does the following.
1, It clarifies that all completed sexual assault forensic examination kits must be stored
by a law enforcement agency for 20 years and all completed strangulation forensic
examination kits must be stored for 6 years, regardless of whether or not the alleged victim
reported an alleged offense to a law enforcement agency,
2. It amends the information required to be collected by the sexual assault forensic
examination kit tracking system established by the Department of Public Safety and the
requirements for law enforcement agencies, licensed health care providers and crime
laboratories to ensure that the required information is recorded in the tracking system.
3, It changes the date that the department must submit its annual report regarding the
tracking system to January 1st and the date of the first annual report to January 1,2026.
4. It clarifies that the department's annual report must include data on both reported
and anonymous kits entered into the tracking system.
5, It changes the date that the department must submit the kit inventory to January 1,
2027.
6, It requires the department to, upon the completion of the United States Department
of Justice Services, Training, Officers, and Prosecutors Violence Against Women Formula
Grant Program funded pilot project to identify and implement resources necessary to
8 establish a tracking system for sexual assault forensic examination kits from Kennebec and
Penobscot counties, establish a stakeholder group consisting of, at a minimum,
representatives from municipal law enforcement, county law enforcement and campus law
enforcement to assist the department in the implementation of the program.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "^> " to H.P. 1353, L,D. 2129
7. It changes the effective date of the provisions in the bill creating a new sexual assault
forensic examination kit tracking system to Januaiy 1,2026,
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Approved: 03/14/24 ^K?(S
LD 2129 LR 2786(03)
An Act to Establish a Statewide Sexual Assault Forensic Examination Kit Tracking System and
Conduct an Inventory of Existing Forensic Examination Kits in the Possession of Law Enforcement
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment '^",
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Fiscal Note Required: Yes
Fiscal Note
Potential State Mandate - Unfunded
Projections Projections
FY 2023-24 FY 2024-25 FY 2025-26 FY 2026-27
.Net Cost (Savings)
General Fund
Highway Fund
Apprqpriations/Allocations
General Fun.d
Highway Fund
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0 $22.7,222
$0 $122,350
$0
$0
$227,222
$122,350
State Mandates
Required Activity Unit Affected
Requires law enforcement agencies to provide the Department of Public Safety Municipality
tracking information for each municipality/county where a forensic examination kit County
was entered into the system and complete an inventory of all kits in its possession.
$235,030
$126,554
$235,
$126,554
Local Cost
Moderate
statewide
The required local activities in this bill may represent a state mandate pursuant to the Constitution of Maine. If the bill
does require a local unit ofgovemment to expand or modify its activities so as to necessitate additional expenditures
from local revenue, the state mandate provisions of the Constitution of Maine require either: (1) General Fund
appropriations be provided to fund at least 90% of any additional necessitated local costs of the mandate; or (2) a
Mandate Preamble be added to the bill and two-thirds of the members of each House vote to exempt the mandate from
the funding requirement. If the bill does represent a state mandate and neither one of these actions occurs, the local
units of government will not be required to implement the mandated activities.
JFiscal Detail and Notes
The Department of Public Safety will require a General Fund appropriation of $227,222 and a Highway Fund
allocation of $122,350 in fiscal year 2025-26 to establish, operate and maintain a sexual assault forensic examination
kit tracking system, perform an inventory of all kits and develop an annual report on the tracking system.
Additional costs to the state's higher educational institutions associated with having a representative of one of the
institution's campus law enforcement agency serve on a stakeholder group can be absorbed within existing budgeted
resources.
LR2786(03) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of]