Fiscal Note
BILL # HB 2102 TITLE: survival of action; deceased sheriff S/E Subject:
DNA collection; felony arrests; expungement
SPONSOR: Griffin STATUS: As Amended by Senate JUD
PREPARED BY: Jordan Johnston
Description
The bill requires any person who is arrested for a felony offense, rather than specific felony offenses, to submit a
DNA sample to the appropriate law enforcement agency. The bill further requires the agency that collects the DNA
sample to provide instructions on the expungement process. Upon meeting certain requirements, individuals
arrested for crimes may go through a process to expunge their DNA records from the DNA identification system.
Estimated Impact
Based on information provided by the Department of Public Safety (DPS), we estimate the bill will increase DPS
crime lab costs by approximately $1.1 million annually starting in FY 2023, assuming an additional 15,700 samples
are analyzed each year under the bill.
Analysis
Current law requires that DNA samples must be collected from all persons convicted of any felony crime. Current
law further dictates that DNA samples must be collected from persons arrested for the following: 1) homicide, 2)
certain sexual offenses, 3) first and second degree burglary, 4) serious offense crimes, and 5) certain misdemeanor
crimes. The appropriate agency must collect a sample of blood or other bodily substances for DNA testing.
Any arrestee and conviction DNA samples collected by local law enforcement, the Department of Juvenile
Corrections, and the Department of Corrections are transmitted to the DPS crime lab. DPS is required to conduct
and oversee the analysis of the DNA samples, make and maintain a report of the results of the DNA analysis, and
maintain the DNA samples for at least 35 years.
The bill would require that a person arrested for any felony offense, rather than just the previously outlined
offenses, submit a DNA sample to DPS. Based on information provided by DPS, we estimate that DPS' cost to
analyze a single DNA sample is about $71. The department further estimated that the bill would require an
additional 15,700 samples be collected each year from the expanded arrestee collections. At a cost of $71 to
analyze a DNA sample, the department estimates it would increase their crime lab costs by $1.1 million to analyze
the additional 15,700 samples.
Local Government Impact
DPS currently provides each law enforcement agency a DNA collection kit to collect the DNA samples for arrestees
and convicted felons. Local law enforcement will be required to collect additional DNA samples using DPS kits and
provide instructions on the expungement process, but we estimate these costs to be minimal.
4/8/22