As calls mounted for policymakers to address the DNA scandal swirling at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, legislators requested a state audit and introduced two bills, one of which seeks to require mandatory reporting and investigation of misconduct.  

In a news conference on Thursday, lawmakers said that’s one factor that was was lacking in the case involving a once-revered DNA scientist at the state lab. 

House Bill 1275 is about transparency, said Reps. Matt Soper, R-Delta, and Yara Zokaie, D-Fort Collins, and Sen. Lisa Frizell, R-Castle Rock.

At the center of the controversy is Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) forensic scientist Yvonne “Missy” Woods, who handled more than 10,780 cases in her 29-year career. The CBI said it identified 1,003 “anomalies” among her work. Woods is facing 102 counts, including a cybercrime allegation.

Last week, lawmakers approved a funding adjustment to CBI’s budget to allow the agency to spend $3 million to begin addressing a backlog of some 1,407 rape kits. Those kits went untested when CBI scientists dropped their regular work to review the Woods cases.

HB 1275 requires employees in the state’s crime lab to report to a director or supervisor when they witness or discover misconduct by a fellow worker and for the agency to investigate those claims within 14 days.

Soper said the investigations unit had a duty to disclose.

Zokaie called the scandal “intentional misconduct” on Woods’ part.

HB 1275 also requires the CBI to notify district attorneys in those questionable cases within 90 days. The district attorneys would then notify both the victims and the defense counsel for the people imprisoned because of the suspicious cases. The defense counsel would then have the right to investigate the “wrongful action” and outlines a process for a defendant to seek post-conviction relief.

Jud Lohnes, staff attorney with the Korey Wise Innocence Project at the University of Colorado Law School, said the importance of forensic testing cannot be overstated, but the DNA results in the Woods cases “cannot be trusted.”

“Therefore,” Lohnes said, “the convictions cannot be trusted.”

Soper said the bill is being fast-tracked, with the intent that it would apply to the Woods cases and any other acts of misconduct going forward. A date for the bill’s first committee hearing has not yet been announced.

The second bill tacking the crisis comes from the Joint Budget Committee.

Senate Bill 170 puts into legislation the requirements attached to the funding bill.

It requires the CBI to spend that $3 million on backlogged DNA evidence and sexual assault kit tests. The CBI is expected to contract with an outside lab to perform those tests, starting with about 1,000 of the estimated 1,407 backlogged sexual assault kits. The CBI is also tasked with creating a dashboard to inform the public on the backlog and update the General Assembly every 30 days, beginning March 30 and continuing through June 30, 2026.

The turnaround time on DNA kits exceeds 500 days, with more for sexual assault kits.

CBI officials have said that the goal is 90 days but that will take time.

Another lawmaker is also pushing for the state auditor to get involved.

Rep. William Lindstedt, D-Broomfield, made an official request last week to the Legislative Audit Committee for the state auditor to conduct a performance review of CBI. Lindstedt chairs the audit committee.

“Recent reports have highlighted significant delays in the processing of sexual assault evidence kits, which have profound implications for both survivors and the justice system,” Lindstedt wrote.

Noting the 517-day turnaround for those kits, Lindstedt wrote that the backlog delays the finalization of criminal investigations and may postpone criminal charges, “leaving survivors in prolonged states of uncertainty and distress.”

The committee also includes Frizell and Mike Weissman, D-Aurora, who are co-sponsors of House Bill 1275.

Rep. Jenny Willford, D-Northglenn, is also a member of the audit committee. She said last week that a kit for a sexual assault she allegedly experienced at the hands of an Uber driver a year ago is among the 1,407 kits awaiting testing. Her amendment to the spending bill became the basis for Senate Bill 170.