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Subcommittee votes to keep unreported sexual‑assault kits for 30 years and advances bill
Summary
HB626 would extend the retention period for unreported sexual‑assault evidence kits from 12 months to 30 years after testimony from survivors and advocates; the subcommittee adopted an amendment changing the effective year and gave the bill a do‑pass recommendation.
Sponsor (Representative) presented HB626 to lengthen the retention period for sexual‑assault evidence kits that were not immediately reported to law enforcement from 12 months to 30 years. The sponsor recounted a survivor case and cited state kit‑tracking statistics (FY23: 256 unreported kits; FY24: 4,319 unreported kits) to show the scale of unreported evidence and the risk of losing DNA evidence that could be crucial to later prosecutions.
Witnesses included Stephanie Colquitt Sherman (survivor) and Gail Gardner (advocate with the Grateful Heart Foundation), who described the emotional and evidentiary impacts when kits were lost or discarded. Committee members asked technical questions about how kits enter law‑enforcement custody when a victim initially declines to report; sponsor and counsel explained procedures at assault centers and noted the drafting could be tightened.
The committee adopted a technical amendment to change the bill's effective year (2025 to 2026) and then voted to give HB626 a do‑pass recommendation as amended.
What happens next: HB626 will proceed to the next committee stage with the subcommittee’s amendments and legislative counsel will resolve drafting clarifications regarding the language about transfer and custody of kits.
