House Finance advances bill to codify assault-kit tracking, set testing timelines

The House Finance Committee on Wednesday voted to move House Bill 62 out of committee after hearing from the Alaska Department of Public Safety, which told members the bill would codify the state's sexual‑assault kit tracking system and establish deadlines for medical providers, law enforcement and the crime lab.

The measure would require medical providers to notify law enforcement and turn over kits within 14 days, require law enforcement to submit kits to the crime lab within 20 days and shorten the lab's processing time from 180 days to 120 days. The bill also would codify the existing tracking software, allow survivors to opt in to receive notifications and preserve a barcode‑based, de‑identified tracking record to protect confidentiality.

Department officials said the bill does not change how kits are tested but aims to lock in current practices and timelines in statute so they persist across future administrations. “This has been a priority to the department, since I've been commissioner,” said James Cockrell, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Public Safety, who testified in person. David Kanaris, chief of the state crime lab, told the committee the bill has three main components: timelines for stakeholders, codification of the tracking system, and provisions for survivor rights and transparency. “Firstly, it's gonna establish timelines for all of the stakeholders in this process,” Kanaris said.

Kanaris described the specific timeline changes the bill would require: a 14‑day requirement for medical providers to notify law enforcement and turn over kits, a 20‑day requirement for law enforcement to submit kits to the lab, and a 120‑day requirement for lab processing. He and other witnesses said samples are generally stable after collection and that the most time‑sensitive interval is the time between assault and evidence collection.

The tracking system described by the department uses nonidentifying barcodes so that the database contains only kit identifiers rather than personal information. Kanaris said survivor‑advocacy groups helped design the system and that survivors can choose to receive notifications or log in to check status at their own pace. Director Susie Frenzel, who prepared the fiscal note, told the committee the department examined civilian vacancies and determined it needs one long‑term program coordinator when current federal grant funding ends.

The bill carries a fiscal note for fiscal year 2026 that includes $123,000 in personal services (one program coordinator), $88,500 for travel, $65,000 for services (including $49,000 for Invita HealthCare Technologies software and $16,000 for core implementation services) and $1,000 for commodities, for a total FY26 request of $197,500, Brody Anderson, staff to Co‑Chair Neil Foster, summarized for the record.

Members who questioned witnesses raised child‑victim handling, whether child advocacy centers can access tracking and whether the bill applies regardless of a victim's age. Kanaris said the bill applies regardless of age and that advocacy centers and parents can follow a kit's progress through the system if the survivor opts in during the process.

After discussion, Representative Schrage moved the bill out of committee “with individual recommendations and attached fiscal note.” There was no recorded objection; the committee announced the motion carried and directed staff to prepare the committee report.

The department showed committee members photographs of long‑term storage and said the state remains caught up on previously unsubmitted kits after earlier auditing and testing efforts. Kanaris said the state now receives about 1,100–1,200 DNA work requests per year and that just over half of those are for sexual‑assault kits. The department emphasized confidentiality, survivor choice and preserving continuity of the tracking system across administrations.

The committee set House Bill 62 aside during initial questions but later returned and moved it out of committee with the attached fiscal note.