(a) This section shall be known, and may be cited, as the âSexual Assault Victimsâ DNA Bill of Rights.â (b) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (1) Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and forensic identification analysis is a powerful law enforcement tool for identifying and prosecuting sexual assault offenders. (2) Existing law requires an adult arrested for or charged with a felony and a juvenile adjudicated for a felony to submit DNA samples as a result of that arrest, charge, or adjudication. (3) Victims of sexual assault have a strong interest in the investigation and prosecution of their cases. (4) Law enforcement agencies have an obligation to victims of sexual assault in the proper handling, retention, and timely DNA testing of rape kit evidence or other crime scene evidence and to be responsive to victims concerning the developments of forensic testing and the investigation of their cases. (5) The growth of the Department of Justiceâs Cal-DNA databank and the national databank through the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) makes it possible for many sexual assault perpetrators to be identified after their first offense, provided that rape kit evidence is analyzed in a timely manner. (6) Timely DNA analysis of rape kit evidence is a core public safety issue affecting men, women, and children in the State of California. It is the intent of the Legislature, in order to further public safety, to encourage DNA analysis of rape kit evidence within the time limit imposed by paragraph (1) of subdivision (g) of Section 803. (7) DNA reference samples collected directly from a victim of sexual assault, and reference samples of DNA collected from any individual that were voluntarily provided for the purpose of exclusion, shall be protected as provided in Section 679.12. (c) To ensure that sexual assault forensic evidence is analyzed within the timeframe required by paragraph (1) of subdivision (g) of Section 803 and to ensure the longest possible statute of limitations for sex offenses, including sex offenses designated pursuant to those subparagraphs, the following shall occur: (1) A law enforcement agency in whose jurisdiction a sex offense specified in Section 261, 261.5, 286, 287, or 289 or former Section 262 or 288a occurred shall do one of the following for sexual assault forensic evidence received by the law enforcement agency on or after January 1, 2016: (A) Submit sexual assault forensic evidence to the crime lab within 20 days after it is booked into evidence. (B) Ensure that a rapid turnaround DNA program is in place to submit forensic evidence collected from the victim of a sexual assault directly from the medical facility where the victim is examined to the crime lab within five days after the evidence is obtained from the victim. (2) The crime lab shall do one of the following for sexual assault forensic evidence received by the crime lab on or after January 1, 2016: (A) Process sexual assault forensic evidence, create DNA profiles when able, and upload qualifying DNA profiles into CODIS as soon as practically possible but no later than 120 days after initially receiving the evidence. (B) Transmit the sexual assault forensic evidence to another crime lab as soon as practically possible, but no later than 30 days after initially receiving the evidence, for processing of the evidence for the presence of DNA. If a DNA profile is created, the transmitting crime lab shall upload the profile into CODIS as soon as practically possible but no longer than 30 days after being notified about the presence of DNA. (3) This subdivision does not require a lab to test all items of forensic evidence obtained in a sexual assault forensic evidence examination. A lab is considered to be in compliance with the guidelines of this section if representative samples of the evidence are processed by the lab in an effort to detect the foreign DNA of the perpetrator. (4) This section does not require a DNA profile to be upl
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