ATLANTA - A group of rape survivors and advocates pushed lawmakers Wednesday to make progress on a rape kit testing bill.
The "Pursuing Justice for Rape Victims Act" passed the house unanimously last month, but stalled in the senate.
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As the chair of the Health and Human Services Committee, Sen. Renee Unterman, R - Buford, refused to schedule a hearing on the bill.
She declined an interview, but defended her decision on the senate floor.
"In essence, we would be writing a law to change the whole state of Georgia for law enforcement officials in your local communities that are doing a good job because of one particular incident in the City of Atlanta," said Unterman.
She was referring to the recent revelation that Grady Hospital had hundreds of rape kits sitting untested in file rooms. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, however, said that the 1500 or so rape kits turned over to them in recent months came from all over the state.
The bill's sponsor, Rep. Scott Holcomb, said the bill would put everyone on the same page about how and when rape kits should be processed. The legislation requires any medical professional who performs a rape kit to immediately notify local law enforcement, if the victim asks. Officers would then have 96 hours to collect the kit and 30 days to turn it over to the GBI for testing.
Under House Bill 827, the GBI would have to draft a report each year about the number of rape kits in their custody and how many remain untested.
"The facts are that there are kits right now sitting on shelves not moving," said Rep. Holcomb. "The facts are also that we don't know the full extent and scope of the problem."
The GBI was recently awarded a $1.8 million grant to hire a third party lab to test the backlogged kits. Sen. Unterman said she and a special senate task force believe that addresses the problem.
"Our conclusion was drawn, unlike the House's version, that the backlog on rape kits was being taken care of," she explained.
Rep. Holcomb and victims’ advocates disagree and believe passing this law is the only way to prevent future backlogs.
"We're talking about victims here," said Holcomb. "Why wouldn't we do everything possible to make sure that we do have the answers instead of continuing to live in this gray area?"
There are only two options for the bill to move forward: the senate committee can hold a hearing or lawmakers can attach the language from HB 827 to another bill.