Last week, Maine's legislative session ended with complicated last minute budget negotiations. A handful of popular bills could be collateral damage, including LD 2129, an act to create a rape kit tracking system and do an inventory of untested kits across the state. Advocates say it would support victims and help catch serial rapists, but now it’s in jeopardy.Maine is last in the nation when it comes to investigating sexual assaults. "I think this bill and several others all got caught in some high-stakes power games between the House and the Senate," said bill sponsor Rep. Valli Geiger. The bill passed both chambers with unanimous support. Lawmakers on the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee said it was a priority. The Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee was ready to vote on whether to fund it when the clock ran out. "We were denied that one final legislative day that we needed to get this work done," said AFA member Rep. Dan Ankeles. The bill requires funding for additional positions at the Maine State Crime Lab to help with tracking, which could also create a need for more testing. A fiscal note attached to the bill requires $349,572 in funding for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. The AFA could fund it, amend it, or reject it. Usually, AFA waits to vote on funding until the budget is complete, so they know how much money they have to work with, but this year, those budget negotiations were still unfolding right down the wire. "The thing about the Maine legislature is that there are very good ideas that often take many tries to get through," said Ankeles. "But with respect to kits, we've already had those many tries, and this was supposed to be the year."More frequently than not, lawmakers opt to extend the session because of unfinished business, but not this year. "We don't have to, as a state government, let perfectly good bills follow the victim to process failures," said Ankeles. The bill's not dead yet. Ankeles is still pushing for an extension and it's wrapped up in something called a Carry Over Order. Senate president Troy Jackson sponsored the measure, to carry over a handful of bills in case of a special session. There could be an opportunity to fund and enact those after what's called veto day. "Enacting this measure with the necessary funding is critical to supporting survivors and improving access to justice, and quite frankly, it is long overdue," said Jackson in a written statement shared with Maine's Total Coverage by his communications director. "It’s why I pushed to pass a carry-over order so this bill and all others on the special appropriations table will have a chance to be passed and funded. I’m hopeful we can get this done for the people of Maine."If that fails, lawmakers would have to start from scratch next session. "Just because we were able to negotiate a million hurdles this time, does not mean we'll be successful at it again," said Geiger. Research shows that only 20-30% of collected rape kits are sent to the Maine State Crime Lab. Without tracking, it's impossible to know what happens to the other 70-80% and without a rape kit inventory, prosecutors don't know what DNA evidence is sitting in police evidence lockers. That evidence frequently connects to other crimes. "It means that serial rapists get a bye for another few years, right? We're not going to we're not going to identify them," said Geiger.There was an effort to pass a tracking bill the session before last, which was downgraded to a pilot program; advocates say that if this bill dies, it’s another year of justice delayed.