On December 30, the Senate passed, by unanimous consent, the Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Registry (SAFER) Act (S. 3250), as amended. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the legislation on September 20 (see The Source, 9/21/12).
Sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), the measure would amend the DNA Backlog Elimination Act (P.L. 106-546) to authorize the attorney general to make grants from the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program to states and local governments to conduct audits of samples of sexual assault evidence that await testing.
The legislation also would require the attorney general to establish the Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Registry within one year of the bill’s enactment. The Department of Justice would administer the registry, allow states and local governments to enter information into it, and track the testing and processing of samples.
