HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1542        FILED ON: 1/15/2025

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No.         

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Natalie M. Higgins and Tricia Farley-Bouvier

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act enhancing protections for sexual violence survivors.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1542        FILED ON: 1/15/2025

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No.         

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)

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An Act enhancing protections for sexual violence survivors.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Section 97B1/2 of chapter 41 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section (b)(2) and replacing it with:-

(2) Submit new sexual assault evidence kits to the crime laboratory within the department of the state police or the police department of a municipality that operates a crime laboratory and has a population of more than 150,000, in the case of a sexual assault alleged to have taken place in that municipality, within 7 business days of taking possession. A sexual violence survivor/ victim who has not yet filed a report with law enforcement may elect their sexual assault evidence kit to be tested. Alternatively, a survivor/victim may elect their kit to be safely stored by law enforcement in a manner that preserves evidence for the duration of the statute of limitations for all sexual assault and rape cases.

SECTION 2. Section 97B1/2 of chapter 41 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding subsection (e):-

(e) A survivor of sexual assault has the right not to have the results of the rape kit used to prosecute the survivor/victim. Law enforcement agencies and their agents shall use survivor/victim DNA samples or profiles only for purposes directly related to the incident being investigated. No law enforcement agency or agent thereof may compare any of these survivor/victim samples or profiles with DNA samples or profiles that do not relate to the incident being investigated. No law enforcement agency or agent thereof may include any of these survivor/victim DNA profiles in any database that allows these samples to be compared to or matched with profiles derived from DNA evidence obtained from crime scenes.