The Kansas Bureau of Investigation has introduced legislation that would have all law enforcement agencies in Kansas adopt written policies saying they must submit all sex assault kits to forensic laboratories for analysis.
House Bill 2228 would ensure that any sexual assault kit linked to a reported assault is submitted within 30 days for testing if approved in its current form. The bill follows a statewide inventory in 2017 that showed over 2,200 kits were not submitted to labs for varying reasons and therefore were not tested.
HB 2228 would also increase the number of years the KBI can retain unreported kits from five to 20. The bill would also add child advocacy centers as approved facilities for testing alongside licensed medical care facilities.
The KBI says law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, victim advocates, lab professionals and medical staffers collaborated on the bill.
