Otter signs long list of bills into law, including ‘Right to Try Act,’ standards for processing rape kits

Gov. Butch Otter has signed a long list of bills into law today. Among them: HB 481, the “Right to Try Act,” which would allow terminally ill patients to use experimental drugs with their doctor’s OK; and HB 528, which lays out standards, requirements and timelines for processing sexual assault evidence kits, also known as rape kits. Both those measures were sponsored by Rep. Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise.

Other bills signed into law today include SB 1293a, legislation sponsored by Sens. Mary Souza, R-Coeur d’Alene, and  Lori DenHartog, R-Meridian, to affirm “parental rights” in education; SB 1279, requested by the governor’s office, which creates a new “STEM Education Fund” to support the work of the STEM Action Center; and HB 379, sponsored by House Education Chairman Reed DeMordaunt, R-Eagle, to launch a computer science initiative in the schools.

You can see the full list of bills signed at the governor’s website here ; the most recent are at the bottom of the list.