Lawmaker Blasts New Wisconsin Rape Kit Bill

WAUWATOSA, WI — A local lawmaker says a new Republican-backed bill that aims at preventing another rape kit processing backlog says the bill "sells out sex assault victims."

State Rep. Robyn Vining (D-Wauwatosa) said in a statement Friday: “I want to reiterate what everyone who testified against this bill on Wednesday said: this bill is not what the people of Wisconsin deserve. The bar is Assembly Bill 214, a bipartisan bill that passed through the Senate unanimously. I will not sell out the women and children of Wisconsin to political gamesmanship. The lives of men, women, and children are NOT tokens in a political game. The vote is no on Assembly Bill 844. And the time to reject partisan games and return to governing for the safety of all Wisconsinites is now.”

Lawmakers say they have two bills that have already passed the Senate and are sitting in committee in the State Assembly. Experts say they, in general, approve of these two bills, but are strongly opposed to the new Republican-backed bill. "They've added a number of pieces that haven't been vetted by the experts and advocates, and are very concerned," Vining said. "Not one person testified in favor of it."

Related Reading

AB844: A new, Republican-backed bill addressing rape kit processing, immigration, school choice and a Sex Assault Victim Bill of Rights

AB 214:An older, bipartisan bill that addresses Wisconsin's rape kit backlog.

AB 358: Another older bipartisan bill that set up a tracking system and database.

Two Bills Languish, Another Fast-Tracked

Vining says the new Republican-backed bill, AB844 was designed to kill previous bi-partisan bills that had support.

According to a Wisconsin Examiner report, one of the bills, AB214, would similarly address the rape kit backlog by setting up new standards. A second bill, AB 358, establishes a new Wisconsin Sexual Assault Kit Tracking System in order to provide victims with processing times and other data.

Although these two bills passed in the State senate, they have been languishing in the Assembly Committee on Health. Then, lawmakers came up with a Republican-backed bill that contained new provisions.

One provision in the Republican-backed bill states that if a person under arrest for sexual assault is not a U.S. citizen and is not authorized to be in the United States under federal law, the law enforcement agency must notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In addition, if a person convicted for sexual assault is not a U.S. citizen and is not authorized to be in the United States under federal law, the Department of Justice must notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Another provision in the bill states that a student who is a victim of sexual assault may attend a private school participating in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, the Racine Parental Choice Program, or the statewide parental choice program, regardless of whether the student meets the standard eligibility requirements to participate in the parental choice program.
The bill also provides an alternative application procedure that allows a student who is victim of sexual assault to begin attending a private school under a parental choice program at any time during the school year.