BILL ANALYSIS AB 1017 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 1017 (Portantino and Brownley) As Amended June 1, 2009 Majority vote PUBLIC SAFETY 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 14-0 ------------------------------------------------------------------ |Ayes:|Solorio, Hagman, |Ayes:|De Leon, Ammiano, Charles | | |Furutani, Gilmore, Hill, | |Calderon, Davis, Duvall, | | |Ma, Skinner | |Fuentes, Hall, | | | | |John A. Perez, Price, | | | | |Skinner, Solorio, Audra | | | | |Strickland, Torlakson, | | | | |Krekorian | ------------------------------------------------------------------ SUMMARY : Requires every law enforcement agency responsible for taking or processing rape evidence annually report, by July 1 of each year, to the Department of Justice (DOJ) the total number of rape kits received and tested during the preceding calendar year, the total number of untested rape kits in its possession as of January 1 of the reporting year, and the total number of rape kits destroyed during the preceding calendar year. Specifically, this bill : 1)States the initial report to the DOJ, as specified above, shall include available statistics for the previous five years. 2)Mandates each law enforcement agency annually report to the DOJ the total number of sexual assault crimes reported in its jurisdiction that would require registration as a sex offender, as specified. The report shall be provided to the DOJ in a form that reports the crimes by the code section violated. 3)States these requirements shall only be in effect until July 1, 2015, and be repealed in January 1, 2016 unless extended. EXISTING LAW : 1)States that upon the request of a sexual assault victim the law enforcement agency investigating a violation of specified AB 1017 Page 2 violent sex offenses, may inform the victim of the status of the DNA testing of the rape kit evidence or other crime scene evidence from the victim's case. The law enforcement agency may, at its discretion, require that the victim's request be in writing. The law enforcement agency may respond to the victim's request with either an oral or written communication, or by electronic mail, if an electronic mail address is available. Nothing in this subdivision requires that the law enforcement agency communicate with the victim or the victim's designee regarding the status of DNA testing absent a specific request from the victim or the victim's designee. 2)Provides, notwithstanding any other limitation of time described in this chapter, a criminal complaint may be filed within one year of the date on which the identity of the suspect is conclusively established by DNA testing if both of the following conditions are met: a) The crime is one that is described in the sex offense registration statute; and, b) The offense was committed prior to January 1, 2001, and biological evidence collected in connection with the offense is analyzed for DNA type no later than January 1, 2004; or the offense was committed on or after January 1, 2001, and biological evidence collected in connection with the offense is analyzed for DNA type no later than two years from the date of the offense. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, minor reimbursable mandated local law enforcement reporting costs to provide backlog statistics to DOJ. COMMENTS : According to the author, "Last year, it was discovered that law enforcement agencies in Los Angeles City and County had thousands of rape kits in their evidence freezers that had not been tested. There were even some kits that had been held in excess of the 10-year statute of limitations for the crime of rape. Since that time, both the City and County of Los Angeles have committed themselves to opening and testing of every rape kit in their evidence rooms. "A rape kit is the physical evidence, often including DNA, that is collected after a sexual assault. Timely testing of rape AB 1017 Page 3 kits is essential in identifying and convicting perpetrators who are frequently repeat offenders. A representative of women's issues has been quoted as saying, 'When a rape is committed, the victim's body is the crime scene. They consent to its search in the same way that a person who has suffered a property crime consents to a search of their home, though it's themselves these victims are opening to inspection.' To treat evidence gathered at that excruciating moment in their lives by not testing it, she said, 'betrays the victim's faith in the criminal justice system.' "It is vital that evidence of these crimes be processed. The New York City Police Department in 1996 had over 17,000 untested rape kits in its possession. At this time, they only had a capacity to test 100 to 150 rape kits a year while they were getting about 1,600 new kits each year. They made the commitment to test the backlog of rape kits and all kits received in the future. After their backlog of kits were tested, they discovered 2,000 'hits' - or DNA matches - leading to the solving of 154 cold rape cases, including the heinous attacks on two teenagers by a serial rapist." Please see the policy committee for a full discussion of this bill. Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Horiuchi / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0001293