Signed by Governor Gary Herbert

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that establishes regulations for testing and reporting of rape kits.

Highlights:

• Requires that all sexual assault kits received by law enforcement be submitted to the Utah Bureau of Forensic Services within 30 days of its receipt, and be tested by the Bureau for the purpose of establishing DNA profiles (Sec. 3 & 4).

• Requires the Bureau to create an administrative rule establishing a specific time frame within which sexual assault kits must be tested after submission (Sec. 3).

• Requires the Bureau to create a statewide tracking system for sexual assault kits by July 1, 2018 (Sec. 7).

• Specifies that if a victim of assault declines to provide a personal statement to law enforcement that the kit shall be considered a “restricted kit,” and shall be held by the law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over such case unless the victim chooses to provide a statement, at which time the law enforcement agency must submit the kit to the Bureau within 30 days of the provision of the statement (Sec. 2 & 4).

• Requires sexual assault kits, in the case of an uncharged or unsolved crime, to be stored for 50 years from the date of collection of evidence (Sec. 5).

• Requires restricted sexual assault kits to be stored for 20 years from the date of collection of evidence and specifies that they may only then be destroyed if the prosecution has determined that no defendant will be tried and filed a motion for the destruction of such kit (Sec. 5).

• Requires personnel who collect sexual assault kits to inform victims of available resources (Sec. 6).

• Requires the Utah Prosecution Council to develop a training program for law enforcement personnel regarding trauma-informed responses and investigations of sexual assault (Sec. 8).

Full Bill Text