MADISON, WI (WTAQ) — A day after Governor Tony Evers signed a bill into law aimed at ensuring a sexual assault kit backlog never happens again in the state, De Pere Republican State Senator Andre Jacque is circulating a bill with the exact same aim.
Jacque says the bill signed into law this week by Evers, which requires medical professionals to notify law enforcement of a sexual assault and for law enforcement to pick them up, falls short.
“We haven’t actually placed restrictions on the state,” Jacque told WTAQ. “We’ve just placed restrictions on everybody else.”
Jacque’s bill would put a new requirement on the state crime lab.
“This is basically requiring that the Department of Justice test the sexual assault kit if a victim consents to its analysis within 90 days of collection by law enforcement,” says Jacque.
Eight states, including Michigan, along with the District of Columbia have similar laws.
Jacque along with Assembly co-sponsor State Representative Janel Brandtjen, also a Republican, have titled the bill “The Justice for Sexual Assault Survivors Act”. Jacque hopes that it will attract support from Democrats.
