PORTLAND — On May 12, 2025, Senate Assistant Majority Leader Jill C. Duson, D-Portland, introduced a bill to create a statewide tracking and inventory system of sexual assault forensic examination kits (sometimes called “rape kits”) in possession of the state. LD 1816, “An Act to Establish a Statewide Sexual Assault Forensic Examination Kit Tracking System and Conduct an Inventory of Existing Forensic Examination Kits in the Possession of Law Enforcement,” was the subject of a public hearing before the Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary.
Sen. Jill Duson
“It’s critical that survivors seeking a forensic examination kit are not only able to access these services, but can be sure that their kits will be tested, processed and that further action can and will be taken should the survivor choose,” said Sen. Duson. “By establishing a statewide system, we will send a message to survivors from Portland to Perham that we see them, we hear them and we trust them to seek justice how they choose — in accordance with the law. I am grateful to my colleagues for their thoughtful consideration and questions regarding this bill.”
LD 1816 directs the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to develop a statewide framework to track all completed kits regardless of whether the alleged offense related to the kit was reported to a law enforcement agency. The tracking system must also be continuously accessible to approved users. It also directs that a law enforcement agency that receives, maintains, stores or preserves sexual assault forensic examination kits must complete an inventory of all kits in its possession and report its findings to DPS.
“[LD 1816] truly hits home for me as the hospital where I had my rape kit procedure done was 20 minutes from Fryeburg,” said Hannah Bilodeau in written testimony to the committee. “A survivor should never feel that they are left in the dark when navigating their healing process. Each year, one in five Mainers will experience sexual assault. I ask that you join me in support of passing Maine’s LD 1816, as every survivor deserves a basic right to closure.”
The Judiciary Committee previously heard testimony this session on a bill, LD 549, which has similar intentions. The key contrast in Sen. Duson’s LD 1816 is that it would not mandate the testing of forensic examination kits. In doing so, this bill takes a fiscally responsible, survivor-centered approach by not forcing survivors to relive their trauma in court should they choose not to.
LD 1816 now faces additional action before the Judiciary Committee.
Sen. Duson represents Senate District 27, which includes part of Westbrook and part of Portland, in the Maine Senate, where she is Senate Assistant Majority Leader.
