TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – House and Senate committees Thursday approved bills that would seek to ensure rapid testing of DNA evidence in suspected sexual assault cases, after disclosures in recent months about a backlog in testing thousands of "rape kits."
The measures (HB 179 and SB 636), sponsored by Rep. Janet Adkins, R-Fernandina Beach, and Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto, R-Fort Myers, are ready to go to the full House and Senate.
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They were approved by the House Judiciary Committee and the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The proposals, in part, would set time frames for law enforcement to submit rape kits to crime labs for testing.
"It is important we create statewide standards for the testing of these kits,'' Adkins said.