SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KERO) — On Wednesday, August 31st, the California State Senate gave final legislative approval to advance Senate Bill 916 to the governor's desk. The bill would empower survivors of sexual assault, making them able to make informed decisions regarding the actions they wish to take in the post-assault process.
SB 916, introduced by Senator Connie M. Leyva (D-Chino), updates the current laws regarding how evidence is collected and handled by law enforcement. In California, survivors of sexual assault may choose to undergo a forensic medical examination. According to a press release from the senator's office, too many of these completed examination kits remain untested in police evidence rooms.
Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley, who sponsored the bill, expressed gratitude toward Senator Leyva for introducing it.
"I am proud to sponsor SB 916 and to have worked once again with Senator Leyva to bring justice and respect to victims and survivors or interpersonal violence," said O'Malley.
The new law requires law enforcement to collect sexual assault kids and log them into the newly created Department of Justice's SAFE-T system. Law enforcement must also submit the kit for testing within 20 days of collection, and the crime lab must test the kit within 120 days. With the SAFE-T log, survivors of sexual assault will be able to track the progress of their kit through a private online portal. The law also specifies that the law enforcement agency that collected the kit will inform the survivor of the status of the DNA evidence and any other crime scene evidence collected.
California law already mandates that all local law enforcement agencies develop an information card that clearly explains the rights of sexual assault survivors and make such card accessible to any provider of medical evidence or physical examinations arising from a sexual assault. SB 916 will update this law to include informing survivors that they cannot be compelled to testify in court.
"As a legislator, I have fought for many years to empower survivors of sexual assault, as well as prioritize healing and justice," Leyva said. "I thank my legislative colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their support of this measure and am hopeful that Governor Newsom will again stand alongside sexual assault survivors by signing this bill."
