SEXUAL ASSAULT EXAMINATION KITS TASK FORCE

HM039

HOUSE MEMORIAL 39

57
th legislature
- STATE OF NEW MEXICO -
second session
, 2026

INTRODUCED BY

Joanne J. Ferrary and Elizabeth "Liz" Thomson

and Angelica Rubio

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THAT THE SECRETARY OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND THE
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE NEW MEXICO COALITION OF SEXUAL
ASSAULT PROGRAMS CONVENE A TASK FORCE TO STUDY THE CURRENT
STATE OF SEXUAL ASSAULT EXAMINATION KITS IN NEW MEXICO AND
REPORT PROGRESS ON THE PROCESSING OF BACKLOGGED SEXUAL ASSAULT
EXAMINATION KITS.

WHEREAS, according to the 2024
New Mexico Crime
Victimization Report
, fifty-four percent of all New Mexicans
have experienced sexual assault or rape in their lifetimes; and

WHEREAS, of those surveyed, forty percent reported being
twelve years or younger at the time of the first incident; and

WHEREAS, twenty-eight percent of respondents to the
New
Mexico Crime Victimization Report
survey reported being injured
to the extent of receiving medical care; and

WHEREAS, respondents of color were more likely than white,
non-Hispanic respondents to have been sexually assaulted; and

WHEREAS, New Mexico has implemented processes to address
its sexual assault examination kit backlog and seeks to ensure
that another backlog does not form; and

WHEREAS, a sexual assault survivor has the opportunity to
receive information about the status of the sexual assault
survivor's sexual assault examination kit; and

WHEREAS, it has been ten years since the last sexual
assault examination kit backlog task force was convened;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the secretary
of public safety and the executive director of the New Mexico
coalition of sexual assault programs be requested to convene a
task force to study the current state of sexual assault
examination kits in New Mexico and report progress on the
processing of backlogged sexual assault examination kits; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be composed of:

A. the secretary of public safety or the
secretary's designee;

B. the executive director of the New Mexico
coalition of sexual assault programs or the executive
director's designee;

C. the state auditor or the state auditor's
designee;

D. the attorney general or the attorney general's
designee;

E. the director of a rape crisis center that serves
a community with a population of one hundred thousand or
greater;

F. the director of a rape crisis center that serves
a community with a population of less than one hundred
thousand;

G. the director of a sexual assault nurse examiner
program that serves a community with a population of one
hundred thousand or greater;

H. the director of a sexual assault nurse examiner
program that serves a community with a population of less than
one hundred thousand;

I. the director of the department of public
safety's forensic laboratories bureau;

J. the sexual assault kit initiative program
coordinator in the department of public safety;

K. the director of the Albuquerque police
department's crime laboratory; and

L. the statewide sexual assault nurse examiner
coordinator; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the secretary of public safety
or the secretary's designee and the executive director of the
New Mexico coalition of sexual assault programs or the
executive director's designee serve as co-chairs of the task
force; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force meet beginning
in July 2026; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force report to the
interim legislative committee dealing with courts, corrections
and justice issues and to the legislative health and human
services committee with the task force's recommendations and
updates on:

A. statewide progress made in processing sexual
assault examination kits to meet the time line defined in
Section 30-9-21 NMSA 1978;

B. the adequacy of services available to survivors
who are affected by the processing of sexual assault
examination kits;

C. potential solutions identified by the task force
to any current challenges in the processing of sexual assault
examination kits; and

D. any legislation the task force recommends for
introduction; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
transmitted to the secretary of public safety, the executive
director of the New Mexico coalition of sexual assault
programs, the attorney general, the director of the department
of public safety's forensic laboratories bureau, the director
of the Albuquerque police department's crime laboratory and the
statewide sexual assault nurse examiner coordinator.

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