Legislature(2025 - 2026)GRUENBERG 120
02/05/2025 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB62 | |
| Presentation(s): Therapeutic Court | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 62 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
HB 62-SEXUAL ASSAULT EXAMINATION KITS/TRACKING
1:02:43 PM
CHAIR GRAY announced that the first order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 62, "An Act relating to sexual assault
examination kits; establishing the sexual assault examination
kit tracking system; and providing for an effective date."
1:03:54 PM
JAMES COCKRELL, Commissioner, Office of the Commissioner,
Department of Public Safety (DPS), presented HB 62 on behalf of
the House Rules Standing Committee, sponsor by request of the
governor. He said the state has come a long way in how it
handles sexual assault investigations and examines evidence.
The goal of the bill is to track sexual assault examination kits
and implement a 14-day timeline for health care providers. It
would also shorten the timeline for law enforcement from 30 days
to 20 days. In addition, the bill would notify individuals when
their sexual assault examination kits were processed in the
state crime lab. He noted that HB 62 is a continuation of
legislation that was vetted during the last legislative session.
1:07:32 PM
DAVID KANARIS, Chief, Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory,
Department of Public Safety (DPS), on behalf of the House Rules
Standing Committee, sponsor by request of the governor,
presented the sectional analysis for HB 62 [included in the
committee packet], which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
Section 1
Amends AS 12.61.010 Rights of crime victims,
subsection (a) to add paragraph (16) to include the
right to be notified of location and testing date of a
sexual assault examination kit that is collected from
the victim.
Section 2
Amends AS 44.41.065 Sexual examination kits subsection
(a) to require that within 14 days after gathering the
evidence, health care providers shall notify the
appropriate law enforcement agency that the sexual
assault examination kit is available to be sent to an
accredited laboratory in coordination with the
Department of Public Safety. Previously this section
was only applicable to law enforcement agencies.
Requires that a law enforcement agency must send the
kit identified by the health care provider in the
scenario above must send the sexual assault
examination kit to an accredited laboratory in
coordination with the Department of Public Safety.
Requires that within 120 days of when a sexual
examination kit is received by the laboratory to which
it is sent, the sexual assault examination kit must be
tested within 120 days.
Clarifies that if the case is resolved before the
sexual assault examination kit is tested, then the
health care provider, law enforcement agency, or
laboratory in possession of the sexual assault
examination kit is not required to meet the time
limits established in (a) of this section.
Section 3 Amends AS 44.41.065 Sexual examination kits
to add subsection (e), which clarifies that the sexual
assault examination kit information must be entered
into the tracking system established by the Department
of Public Safety.
Section 4 Amends AS 44.41 Department of Public Safety
to add a new section, AS 44.41.067 Sexual assault
examination kit tracking system. Requires the
Department of Public Safety to develop and operate a
sexual assault examination tracking system to track
status and location of a sexual assault examination
kit from the point of evidence collection to testing.
Requires that the sexual assault examination kit
tracking system allow the victim to access and, if the
victim chooses, to receive automated notifications of
the status of the kit and when a kit has been tested.
Establishes the sexual assault examination kit
tracking system as confidential and not subject to
public records, except that the Department of Public
Safety may use the information to provide the report
required by AS 44.41.070 Report on untested sexual
assault examination kits.
Section 5 Repeals AS 44.41.070 Report on untested
sexual assault examination kits subsection (a).
Section 6 Adds uncodified law to allow the Department
of Public Safety to establish regulations. Section 7
Provides an immediate effective date for Section 6 of
the bill.
1:10:44 PM
MR. KANARIS presented a PowerPoint on HB 62 [hard copy included
in the committee packet], beginning on slide 2, "Key
Provisions," which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
Timelines for transmittal and testing of Sexual
Assault Kits
Codifying the Sexual Assault Kit Tracking System
Survivor Rights and Transparency
MR. KANARIS continued to slide 3, "Time Processing of Kits,"
which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
Medical providers must notify law enforcement within
14 days after evidence collection
New Requirement
Law enforcement must transfer kits to an accredited
laboratory within 20 days
Currently 30 days
Laboratory must complete testing within 120 days
Currently 180 days
MR. KANARIS turned to slide 4, "Survivor Rights and
Transparency," which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
Survivors must be notified when their kits are tested
The tracking system enables survivors to stay
informed and connected to their case without
compromising their privacy or needing to re-engage
with law enforcement
The system ensures survivors can securely monitor the
status of their kits and opt-in for automated updates
MR. KANARIS proceeded to slide 5, "Codification of the Sexual
Assault Kit Tracking System," which read as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
Sexual assault examination kit tracking system will
be operated by the Department of Public Safety
Data remains confidential to protect survivor privacy
MR. KANARIS described two photos on slide 6 that showed the
crime lab's long-term storage room where all the kits are stored
in perpetuity.
1:15:30 PM
CHAIR GRAY referred to subsection (c) beginning on page 4, line
30 of the bill, and asked what happens to the kits when charges
are dropped, or the case is resolved.
MR. KANARIS said all kits are saved in perpetuity.
CHAIR GRAY inquired about the tracking system and whether it's
currently being used.
MR. KANARIS responded yes, the tracking system was deployed in
2023 and is currently used by law enforcement agencies, the
crime lab, and medical providers.
CHAIR GRAY concluded that the bill seeks to codify existing
practices into law.
MR. KANARIS answered yes, in addition to establishing turnaround
times to ensure that the kits are moved through the system as
quickly as possible.
1:17:40 PM
REPRESENTATIVE COSTELLO asked what processes occur during the
department's 20-day timeframe.
COMMISSIONER COCKRELL said the kits are stored in an evidence
locker until they are sent to the lab.
REPRESENTATIVE COSTELLO asked whether there is a plan to
communicate the proposed deadline with medical providers if the
bill were to pass.
MR. KANARIS said yes, the crime lab has a training position that
works exclusively on the kit tracking system. It would be their
job [to train the medical providers].
1:20:52 PM
REPRESENTATIVE UNDERWOOD asked whether 120 days is a national
standard and whether that timeframe could be shortened.
MR. KANARIS explained that on average, it takes 5 weeks to
process DNA through the system with the crime lab's current
technology. He acknowledged the importance of striving to
improve the turnaround time and speculated that 90 days may be
realistic in the future.
REPRESENTATIVE UNDERWOOD asked whether there was any opposition
to the bill last year.
MR. KANARIS recalled that medical providers expressed some
concern about the 7-day turnaround time. He opined that with an
average turnaround time of 8 days, a 14-day turnaround time is
realistic for everyone.
1:23:26 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP asked how training would be administered to
ensure that this plan is followed and enforced.
COMMISSIONER COCKRELL reiterated that the crime lab has a
position that's specifically dedicated to training. He assured
Representative Kopp that law enforcement would follow the law
and that the deadlines would be met.
1:25:53 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EISCHEID shared that public safety is of huge
importance to his constituents. He asked for a brief history of
the backlog in Alaska.
MR. KANARIS explained that around 2015, DPS applied for a
federal grant to investigate the backlog of 500-600 sexual
assault kits that had not been tested. By 2018, all outstanding
kits had been tested under the grant. In 2018, a capital
appropriation of $2.75 million was awarded by the legislature to
audit the evidence rooms of law enforcement agencies across the
state for untested sexual assault kits. This audit uncovered
2,500 additional kits that were subsequently sent out of state
for testing and entered into Alaska's DNA database. He added
that currently, the lab receives around 600 sexual assault cases
per year.
1:28:40 PM
REPRESENTATIVE UNDERWOOD inquired about the proper chain of
custody for sexual assault kits.
MR. KANARIS said medical providers are not responsible for
maintaining a legal chain of custody. The lab's chain of
custody is kept in the lab information management system and law
enforcement's chain of custody is maintained in its record
management system.
REPRESENTATIVE UNDERWOOD asked whether the kit could be
disqualified from court for any reason.
MR. KANARIS answered no.
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP confirmed that the custody log is attached
to the kit at all times and must be signed for at various
intervals.
CHAIR GRAY asked what causes the delay between evidence
collection and law enforcement taking custody.
MR. KANARIS described several factors that may delay the
process, including a peer review of the paperwork and staffing
issues.
1:32:07 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MINA asked whether there had been more engagement
with medical providers since the previous iteration of the bill.
COMMISSIONER COCKRELL responded that the department is
comfortable with the 14-day timeline and has not received any
additional feedback from medical providers.
1:34:06 PM
CHAIR GRAY opened public testimony on HB 62.
1:34:44 PM
LAUREE MORTON, Deputy Director, Alaska Network on Domestic
Violence and Sexual Assault (ANDVA), testified in support of HB
62. She described the history of sexual assault kits in Alaska
and asked whether the state is doing everything possible to
ensure that victims are treated with dignity and respect; are
able to make choose how and when to interact with the criminal
justice system; and have access to support. Streamlining the
timeline and establishing a kit tracking system are great
strides forward, she said. She urged favorable consideration of
HB 62.
1:37:54 PM
MEGAN EDGE, Alaska Prison Project Director, Alaska Civil
Liberties Union (ACLU), testified in support of HB 62. She said
the bill would take steps to ensure that kits are tested in a
timely fashion and that victims are better informed of the
process, thereby improving access to justice for survivors. She
shared her personal history and explained why she chose not to
come forward to law enforcement. She said the bill would
increase confidence that kits are handled in an expeditious and
transparent way and ensure that Alaska is upholding its promise
to a safe, fair, and balanced legal system.
1:41:22 PM
TERRA HENRY, Forensic Nurse Practitioner, Friends of Nursing,
testified in support of HB 62. She shared her personal
experience as a forensic nurse and said with the implementation
of tracking, patients would have the ability to monitor the
status of their sexual assault kit. She spoke favorably of the
medical facilities' 14-day timeframe and urged members to pass
HB 62, as written.
1:45:16 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease at 1:45 p.m.
1:45:39 PM
CHAIR GRAY announced that public testimony would be left open.
[HB 62 was held over].
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB0062A.pdf |
HJUD 2/5/2025 1:00:00 PM |
HB 62 |
| HB 62 Sectional Analysis Version 34-GH1317 A.pdf |
HJUD 2/5/2025 1:00:00 PM |
HB 62 |
| 0317-DPS-SSA-01-21-25.pdf |
HJUD 2/5/2025 1:00:00 PM |
HB 62 |
| HB 62 Transmittal Letter.pdf |
HJUD 2/5/2025 1:00:00 PM |
HB 62 |
| HJUD Therapeutic Court Presentation.pdf |
HJUD 2/5/2025 1:00:00 PM |
Therapeutic Court Presentation |
| Summary of TC 2-3-25.pdf |
HJUD 2/5/2025 1:00:00 PM |
Therapeutic Court Presentation |