House Bill 1413 establishes a new rape kit backlog fund within the Indiana Code to support efforts to eliminate untested rape kit backlogs. The fund is administered by the state police department and may be used to buy processing equipment, pay for kit testing, hire staff, improve wages, and cover other costs tied to speeding up rape kit processing. The fund may receive state deposits, grants, donations, and investment earnings, and unused balances do not revert to the general fund at the end of the fiscal year.
The bill also requires the state police department to award grants to law enforcement agencies and testing laboratories, including the state police crime lab, to help clear the backlog. In addition, the department must submit an annual electronic report to the General Assembly by November 1 detailing the status of the backlog and how the funds were used. A separate compliance deadline requires every law enforcement agency and testing lab to process, by January 1, 2027, all rape kits in their possession that were unprocessed as of July 1, 2025 and tied to a filed police report, with notice of that requirement to be sent by September 1, 2025.
The bill’s impact on state law is to create a dedicated funding mechanism and reporting structure for rape kit processing, while imposing a statewide deadline for clearing existing untested kits. It amends Indiana public safety law, shifts administrative responsibility to the state police department, and creates a continuing appropriation-style fund that can retain year-end balances. It directly affects law enforcement agencies, forensic testing labs, and the state police crime lab.
The overall sentiment around the bill appears strongly supportive and noncontroversial. The House passed it 90-0, and both House committees reported it unanimously with do-pass recommendations. The Senate Corrections and Criminal Law Committee also reported it favorably without dissent, suggesting broad bipartisan agreement on the need to address rape kit backlogs.
There is little visible contention in the available record. The main policy focus is how best to fund and administer backlog reduction, including whether the state police department should manage grants and reporting. The committee amendments appear to have been technical or administrative in nature, with no recorded opposition on the core policy of clearing untested rape kits.
HB 1413 adds IC 10-11-2-35.5 to create the rape kit backlog fund and authorizes state police-administered grants for equipment, staffing, processing, and other backlog-reduction costs. It requires annual reporting to the General Assembly and imposes a deadline for law enforcement agencies and testing labs to process qualifying untested rape kits already in their possession, thereby affecting state police, local law enforcement, forensic labs, and victims awaiting case resolution.
The bill was received very favorably throughout the legislative process. It passed the House unanimously, received unanimous committee approval in the House, and was reported favorably in the Senate committee without any recorded opposition. The available record suggests broad consensus that reducing the rape kit backlog is an important public safety and criminal justice priority.
No major substantive opposition is reflected in the bill record. The only apparent points of discussion were administrative details, such as replacing references to the criminal justice institute with the state police department and adjusting statutory drafting. The core policy—creating a dedicated fund, issuing grants, and requiring backlog processing by a set deadline—appears to have been broadly accepted.