CS/HB 847 2025
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hb847-01-c1
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to the Expedited DNA Testing Grant 2
Program; creating s. 943.328, F.S.; defining the term 3
"private laboratory"; creating the Expedited DNA 4
Testing Grant Program within the Department of Law 5
Enforcement; providing for the annual award of grants; 6
specifying uses of grants; requiring an annual report 7
by each grant recipient; providing rulemaking 8
authority; providing an effective date. 9
10
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 11
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Section 1. Section 943.328, Florida Statutes, is created 13
to read: 14
943.328 Expedited DNA Testing Grant Program. — 15
(1) As used in this section, the term "private laboratory" 16
means any DNA laboratory accre dited for a minimum of 5 years in 17
accordance with ISO/IEC 17025:2017 and the applicable Federal 18
Bureau of Investigation Quality Assurance Standards. 19
(2) There is created within the department the Expedited 20
DNA Testing Grant Program to award grants to law enforcement 21
agencies for the processing of evidentiary items for DNA testing 22
as provided in subsection (4). 23
(3) The department shall annually award to law enforcement 24
agencies any funds specifically appropriated for the grant 25
CS/HB 847 2025
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
program to cover testing o f DNA samples by private laboratories 26
as provided in subsection (4). 27
(4) Grants may be used by a law enforcement agency for any 28
of the following: 29
(a) When the technology or technique needed to properly 30
test the DNA sample is not readily available at a local or state 31
laboratory. 32
(b) When, in the agency's judgment, expedited testing of 33
the DNA sample is in the best interest of advancing an 34
investigation. 35
(5) Each grant recipient shall provide a report to the 36
executive director no later than 1 year a fter receipt of 37
funding. The report shall include: 38
(a) The amount of annual funding received from this grant. 39
(b) The number of cases tested by the private laboratory. 40
(c) The type of DNA testing used, including the name of 41
the private laboratory t o which such testing was outsourced and 42
the type of primary equipment used by the private laboratory for 43
such testing. 44
(d) The lab report with the results of the DNA testing. 45
(e) The average amount of time it took to complete the DNA 46
testing. 47
(6) The department may adopt rules pursuant to ss. 48
120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement and administer this section 49
and to establish the process for the allocation of grant funds. 50
CS/HB 847 2025
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 51