LA Weekly

California legislators this week set aside partisanship to move toward reducing the state’s backlog of untested rape kits, with both houses passing separate bills targeting the problem.

While California may have a reputation for progressive policies and a history of tough-on-crime laws, Los Angeles and L.A. County at one point had 12,000 untested rape kits, which law enforcement only caught up on in 2011.

On May 25, the state Senate Appropriations Committee will decide whether to advance two bills that would demand the speedy testing of California’s large backlog of rape kits and the timely testing of all newly collected rape kits.

AB3118 requires the first-ever statewide inventory of untested rape kits in California. At present, state officials have no idea how many kits are sitting on shelves across the state.