Sexual assault forensic evidence: testing.

Senator Wahab's amendment to California's Sexual Assault Victims' DNA Bill of Rights grants adult sexual assault survivors who are undecided about reporting to law enforcement the option to delay testing of their forensic evidence. Under current law, law enforcement agencies must submit sexual assault evidence to crime labs within 20 days of booking unless a rapid DNA program is in place. The proposed change creates an exception to these testing requirements when survivors specifically request to postpone analysis until they decide to make a formal report.

The legislation maintains existing provisions that require law enforcement to notify victims about the status of DNA testing upon request, inform them before destroying evidence, and retain forensic evidence for at least 20 years in unsolved cases. It preserves victims' rights to access the Department of Justice's SAFE-T database for information about their forensic kit and to designate an advocate or support person to receive case updates on their behalf.