§ 23-98-3. Annual statewide inventory of sexual assault evidence kits.
(a) Within one hundred eighty (180) days of June 29, 2022, and annually thereafter, all
medical facilities, law enforcement agencies, crime laboratories, and any other facilities
that receive, maintain, store, or preserve sexual assault evidence kits (kits) shall
submit a report containing the following information to the department of health:
(1) The total number of all untested kits in possession of each medical facility, law
enforcement agency, crime laboratory, and any other facility that receives, maintains,
stores, or preserves kits;
(2) For each kit the facility shall provide:
(i) The category of the kit:
(A) Whether sexual assault was reported to law enforcement; or
(B) Whether the victim chose not to file a report with law enforcement.
(ii) The status of the kit:
(A) For kits of medical facilities: The date when the kit was reported to law enforcement,
and the date when the kit was delivered to the state health laboratory;
(B) For kits of a law enforcement agency: The date the kit was picked up from a medical
facility, the date when the kit was submitted to a crime laboratory, and for any kit
not submitted to a crime lab, the reason the kit was not submitted;
(C) For kits belonging to another jurisdiction: The date that the jurisdiction was notified
and the date the kit was picked up; and
(D) For kits in possession of crime laboratories: The date the kit was received from law
enforcement and from which agency the kit was received; the date when the kit was
tested; the date when the resulting information was entered into CODIS or other relevant
state or local DNA databases, and the reasoning, if applicable, that a kit was not
tested or a DNA profile was not created;
(3) The total number of kits in possession of the entity for more than thirty (30) days
or beyond the statutory time frame for kit submission and testing; and
(4) The total number of kits destroyed and the reason for destruction.
(b) The department of health shall compile the data from the reports in a summary report.
The summary report shall include a list of all agencies or facilities that failed
to participate in the preparation of the report. The annual summary report shall be
made publicly available on the department of health's website, and shall be submitted
to the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the
senate, and the office of the attorney general.
(c) Within ninety (90) days of June 29, 2022, all previously untested kits in medical
facilities or other facilities that collect kits shall be submitted to the appropriate
law enforcement agency.
(d) Within one hundred eighty (180) days of June 29, 2022, each law enforcement agency
shall submit all previously untested kits, including those sexual assaults past the
statute of limitations, to the accredited public crime laboratory or laboratories.
(1) Anonymous or unreported kits are exempted from this section unless the victim files
a report and consents to the testing of their kit.
(2) Anonymous and unreported kits shall be safely stored by the state health laboratory
in a manner that preserves evidence for a duration of ten (10) years or the applicable
statute of limitations, whichever is greater.
(3) Victims who do not file a report with law enforcement at the time the kit was collected
shall not negate their right to report the crime and have the kit tested in the future.
(e) An accredited public crime laboratory shall test all previously untested sexual assault
kits within ninety (90) days of receipt from the local law enforcement agency.
(f) Testing shall be pursued to develop autosomal DNA profiles that are eligible for entry
into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) and local DNA databases.
(1) With the goal of generating a CODIS-eligible DNA profile, if a laboratory is unable
to obtain an autosomal CODIS-eligible DNA profile, the laboratory should evaluate
the case to determine if any other DNA-typing results could be used for investigative
purposes.
(2) In cases where testing has resulted in a DNA profile, the laboratory shall enter the
full profile into the Combined DNA Index System Database (CODIS) and local DNA databases.
The average completion rate for this analysis and classification shall not exceed
ninety (90) days.
(3) If an accredited public crime laboratory is unable to meet the deadline set forth
in subsection (f)(2) of this section, the kits shall be outsourced for testing to
an accredited private crime laboratory.