INDIANAPOLIS -- The Senate Corrections and Criminal Law Committee unanimously passed a bill that could eliminate the state’s backlog of rape kits on Tuesday. If signed into law, the bill would provide funding to the Indiana State Police for new equipment and competitive wages to process roughl y 600-800 untested rape kits. According to the bill’s author, State Rep. Becky Cash (R-Zionsville), that translates to a six to eight-month backlog. “It’s imperative that we get this rape kit backlog to zero—hopefully where we’re processing those in real time,” Cash said. “That money hopefully would be there in a continuous mechanism, but, of course, it’s a two-year budget, so we can come back and reassess in two years if more money is needed for that.” Given its potential price tag- the original fiscal note was $2.5 million- the bill now heads to Senate Appropriations, which is a sign some lawmakers and advocates said doesn’t necessarily bode well for its chances of survival. “I have to be honest—they often say ‘Appropriations is the place where bills go to die,' and I hope that’s not true,” Beth White, the president/CEO of the Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault (ICESA), said. According to White, hundreds of programs, agencies and organizations statewide like hers are not only preparing for a tight budget at the state level, but at the federal level too. Although the bill won’t fix the fiscal problem, White said it will certainly help it. “We were expecting a 40% cut, 4-0, to the amount that Indiana was getting in our VOCA, Victim of Crime Act, VOCA dollars,” White said. “I understand it is a tough environment, but the testing of rape kits is about public safety.” Cash said she’s confident the bill will move through the Senate and onto Gov. Braun’s desk. “I’m grateful to all of my colleagues on both sides,” Cash said. “It has been completely bipartisan all the way through, I don’t think we got a no-vote the entire time. I worked closely with Rep. Thompson on this, so hopefully, him and Sen. Mishler can agree on that, and we’ll move this along.” ...read more read less