NV WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE TO HOLD HEARING MONDAY FOR RAPE KIT BILL

May 20, 2017

Carson City, Monday at 5 pm., Ways and Means Nevada Assembly committee has scheduled a hearing to review the Rape Kit bill, Assembly Bill 97.

Over the past 20 years, some 8,000 rape kits went untested in Nevada. Now there’s a bill in the State Legislature, sponsored by Attorney General Adam Laxalt to prevent this from ever happening again. The bill, AB 97, will require police to test rape kits within 120 days.

So let’s put this in perspective. A woman or child, who was raped in Las Vegas, called the police, went to the hospital and got a rape kit administered only to have the rape kit sit in storage for some 10 years without it tested. Imagine how they must feel. Most rapists don’t just do it once. They repeat the crime over and over and so the rape kit testing is critical to stopping violent rapists and saving other women and children from becoming rape victims or even being killed.

Las Vegas Metro has asked for $3 million over the next two years to comply with the 120 day requirement in the proposed law if it passes.

AB 97 recently passed the Nevada Assembly Judiciary Committee under immense public scrutiny. The 2017 Nevada State Legislative Session ends in three weeks.

Rob Lauer

Political Reporter

360Daily.net