If you follow the news in Wisconsin, watch television or visit websites with internet ads, it was hard to miss stories last year about a statewide backlog of rape kits that had never been tested for criminal evidence.

Prosecutors eventually filed criminal charges in four cases after DNA testing, and the state reached several long-awaited milestones, including the completion of more than 4,100 DNA tests.

The topic also drew heavy attention in last year's attorney general election. Democrat Josh Kaul made the backlog a prominent theme of his successful campaign to unseat GOP incumbent Attorney General Brad Schimel.

Things have simmered since the Nov. 6 election but that likely won't last. Here are a few more developments to watch for in 2019.

More prosecutions, victim contacts

For much of 2018, thousands of rape kits remained either waiting to be tested or waiting for a technical review of their DNA results, which meant investigators were left waiting, too.

Now that most of the lab work is done, investigators across the state can begin reviewing what the new information says about years-old allegations and reconsider seeking charges from prosecutors.

These steps also mean re-approaching victims and having tough conversations about how their cases were handled. State authorities have urged investigators to apologize to victims for past testing delays in an effort to rebuild trust.

Some counties have established panels of police officers, lawyers, advocates and other experts to weigh reopening investigations. In some cases, these panels may advise sparing victims the news that their rape kit was left untested since it may needlessly reopen old wounds.

The state's efforts to test old rape kits have yielded at least 560 DNA matches with national crime databases, including 224 matches that identified people who weren't previously listed as suspects in cases.

At the end of September last year, state records show fewer than a dozen victims had been contacted by investigators about the new DNA results.

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New mandates in state law

Calls for lawmakers to take action in response to Wisconsin's backlog have gone nowhere since the mountain of evidence surfaced in 2014.

But in October last year, two GOP legislators running for re-election in northeast Wisconsin announced plans to draft legislation that would create a new mandate and codify new state storage practices for rape kits.

The announcement marked the first time that Republican legislators had voiced support for changing state laws affecting rape kits. A Madison Democrat proposed legislation in 2017, but it never gained traction in the state's GOP-controlled Legislature.

The northeast legislators, Ledgeview's John Macco and Green Bay's David Steffen, have specifically described changes affecting cases where rape kits are collected at hospitals but victims are uncertain about whether to report a crime to police.

In these cases, the legislation would require hospitals to submit kits to state facilities within 72 hours and allow victims to have their kits stored for at least 10 years. Victims would also be able to track the testing status of their kits.

It's unclear if the legislation would propose a 72-hour mandate for kits collected by police, as the state's former and current attorney general backed in October. The legislators have said they plan to introduce their bill this month.

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Tax dollars for rape kits

State justice officials have secured $8.1 million in grants since 2015 to pay for DNA tests, law enforcement training, a publicity campaign and other initiatives related to tackling Wisconsin's backlog.

But to national advocates for survivors of sexual assault, the grant money isn't enough. They want Wisconsin, like other states, to set aside some of its own tax dollars for ensuring that another backlog doesn't grow.

"What we’re really looking for is a real dedication of funding to eliminate the backlog, to create (a tracking system) and to make sure moving forward that the lab is in a place to test rape kits in a certain amount of time," said Ilse Knecht, an advocate for the Joyful Heart Foundation, a nonprofit founded by actress Mariska Hargitay.

Wisconsin lawmakers have been leery in recent years about spending tax money on the backlog, deferring the issue to Attorney General Brad Schimel, who consistently argued that no state dollars were needed on top of grant funding.

The nearest Schimel came to advocating for tax dollars came in the form of a broader budget request for more crime lab workers. He asked lawmakers to approve $1.6 million this year for 14 positions to address growing demand for DNA and other tests.

The prospect of Schimel's request is anyone's guess after an election that reshaped state government. Wisconsin's new governor and attorney general, both Democrats, have been coy for months about their budget positions on rape kits.

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Keegan Kyle is an investigative reporter for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. He can be reached at kkyle@gannett.com.