(WAVE/WKYT) – Lawmakers are still discussing House Bill 305, otherwise known as the Crystal Rogers Act.
State Representative Candy Massaroni’s bill would extend the statute of limitations to 10 years for anyone who secretly records grand jury testimony.
During Brooks Houck’s case, prosecutors said Houck and his family members secretly recorded their grand jury testimonies.
The FBI discovered the recordings after a search on the family’s farm eight years later, and the one-year statute of limitations had expired.
One lawmaker recommended adding exemptions for interpreters and stenographers.
Crystal Rogers’ mother also testified in front of lawmakers.
“This bill hits home to me because my daughter was Crystal Rogers. She was murdered, and the guy that murdered her — they recorded their grand jury hearings. Him and his whole family did, and we couldn’t do anything about it because the statute of limitations had ran out. So this bill’s very important to me,” Ballard said.
The bill passed out of its committee unanimously and moves to a full Senate vote.