AUSTIN (1080 KRLD) - State Rep. Victoria Neave filed House Bill 8, the "Lavinia Masters Act," to tackle the backlog of thousands of untested rape kits in Texas and to bring justice to survivors of sexual assault.
House Bill 8 is named after Lavinia Masters, who, at the age of 13-years-old, was raped at knifepoint in the middle of the night by a man who broke into her home.
Lavinia's rape kit sat on a shelf untested for more than 20 years. Once tested, the 10-year statute of limitations had expired.
After passing House Bills 1729 and 4102 in the 85th Legislative session to generate funding to the test the backlog of rape kits, State Representative Neave created a Dallas-area based Sexual Violence Task Force comprised of subject-matter experts, including law enforcement, District Attorney's Office, SANE nurses, forensic lab, rape crisis centers, and survivors advocates to study the issue of sexual violence in our communities and generating legislative solutions. Rep. Neave's Sexual Violence Task Force heard from experts and made recommendations resulting in a package of bipartisan legislation: House Bills 8, 616, and 282, as well as other legislation relating to sexual assaults on college campuses and sexual harassment in the workplace.
"Every rape kit sitting on a shelf represents a survivor waiting for justice," said State Rep. Victoria Neave. "House Bill 8 seeks to address the circumstances in Lavinia's case that led to the delay in the testing of her rape kit so that, in future cases, victims are not denied justice. House Bill 8 is the result of the hard-work of our Task Force members and demonstrates our state's bipartisan commitment to ensuring justice for survivors."
House Bill 8 contains the following components:
• Requires an audit of untested rape kits to determine the number, status, and location of all rape kits in Texas.
• Creates timelines for the submission, testing, and analysis for all newly collected kits.
• Prohibits law enforcement agencies from destroying rape kits related to an uncharged or unsolved case until the later of: (1) the length of the statute of limitations or (2) 50 years.
• Tolls the statute of limitations for sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault until the rape kit is tested.
• Increases the time DPS maintains rape kits classified as "non-reports" from two years to five years.
House Bill 616 allows healthcare facilities or individual SANE nurses to apply for direct reimbursement for forensic sexual assault exams from the Crime Victim Compensation (CVC) Fund, streamlining the reimbursement process and allowing for faster reimbursement for health care facilities and less administrative burdens for law enforcement.
House Bill 282 requires law enforcement officers to be trained on trauma-informed interviewing techniques when speaking to survivors of rape and sexual violence.