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AN ACT relating to deoxyribonucleic acid evidence. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
Section 1. KRS 15.440 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) Each unit of government that meets the following requirements shall be eligible to 4
share in the distribution of funds from the Law Enforcement Foundation Program 5
fund: 6
(a) Employs one (1) or more police officers; 7
(b) Pays every police officer at least the minimum federal wage; 8
(c) Requires all police officers to have, at a minimum, a high school degree, or its 9
equivalent as determined by the council, except that each police officer 10
employed prior to the date on which the officer's police department was 11
included as a participant under KRS 15.410 to 15.510 shall be deemed to have 12
met the requirements of this subsection; 13
(d) 1. Requires all police officers to successfully complete a basic training 14
course of nine hundred twenty-eight (928) hours' duration within one (1) 15
year of the date of employment at a school certified or recognized by the 16
council, which may provide a different number of hours of instruction as 17
established in this paragraph, except that each police officer employed 18
prior to the date on which the officer's police department was included 19
as a participant under KRS 15.410 to 15.510 shall be deemed to have 20
met the requirements of this subsection. 21
2. As the exclusive method by which the number of hours required for 22
basic training courses shall be modified from that which is specifically 23
established by this paragraph, the council may, by the promulgation of 24
administrative regulations in accordance with the provisions of KRS 25
Chapter 13A, explicitly set the exact number of hours for basic training 26
at a number different from nine hundred twenty-eight (928) hours based 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS BR 2126
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upon a training curriculum approved by the Kentucky Law Enforcement 1
Council as determined by a validated job task analysis. 2
3. If the council sets an exact number of hours different from nine hundred 3
twenty-eight (928) in an administrative regulation as provided by this 4
paragraph, it shall not further change the number of hours required for 5
basic training without promulgating administrative regulations in 6
accordance with the provisions of KRS Chapter 13A. 7
4. Nothing in this paragraph shall be interpreted to prevent the council, 8
pursuant to its authority under KRS 15.330, from approving training 9
schools with a curriculum requiring attendance of a number of hours that 10
exceeds nine hundred twenty-eight (928) hours or the number of hours 11
established in an administrative regulation as provided by subparagraphs 12
2. and 3. of this paragraph. However, the training programs and schools 13
for the basic training of law enforcement personnel conducted by the 14
department pursuant to KRS 15A.070 shall not contain a curriculum that 15
requires attendance of a number of hours for basic training that is 16
different from nine hundred twenty-eight (928) hours or the number of 17
hours established in an administrative regulation promulgated by the 18
council pursuant to the provisions of KRS Chapter 13A as provided by 19
subparagraphs 2. and 3. of this paragraph. 20
5. KRS 15.400 and 15.404(1) and subparagraphs 1. to 4. of this paragraph 21
to the contrary notwithstanding, the council may, through the 22
promulgation of administrative regulations in accordance with KRS 23
Chapter 13A, approve basic training credit for: 24
a. Years of service credit as a law enforcement officer with previous 25
service in another state; and 26
b. Basic training completed in another state. 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS BR 2126
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6. KRS 15.400 and 15.404(1) and subparagraphs 1. to 4. of this paragraph 1
to the contrary notwithstanding, the council may, through the 2
promulgation of administrative regulations in accordance with KRS 3
Chapter 13A, approve basic training credit for: 4
a. Completion of eight hundred forty-eight (848) hours of training at 5
a school established pursuant to KRS 15A.070; 6
b. A minimum of fifteen (15) years of experience as a certified law 7
enforcement instructor at a school established pursuant to KRS 8
15A.070; 9
c. Completion of an average of forty (40) hours of Kentucky Law 10
Enforcement Council approved in-service training annually from 11
January 1, 1997, through January 1, 2020; 12
d. Three (3) years of active, full-time service as a: 13
i. City, county, urban-county, charter county, consolidated 14
local, or unified local government police officer; 15
ii. Sheriff's deputy, excluding special deputies appointed under 16
KRS 70.045; 17
iii. Department of Kentucky State Police officer; or 18
iv. Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources 19
conservation officer exercising peace officer powers under 20
KRS 150.090; and 21
e. Completion of the: 22
i. Twenty-four (24) hour legal update Penal Code course; 23
ii. Sixteen (16) hour legal update constitutional procedure 24
course; and 25
iii. Forty (40) hour basic officer skills course within one (1) year 26
prior to applying for certification; 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS BR 2126
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(e) Requires all police officers to successfully complete each calendar year an in-1
service training course, appropriate to the officer's rank and responsibility and 2
the size and location of the officer's police department, of forty (40) hours' 3
duration, at a school certified or recognized by the council which may include 4
a four (4) hour course which meets the requirements of paragraph (j) of this 5
subsection. This in-service training requirement shall be waived for the period 6
of time that a peace officer is serving on active duty in the United States 7
Armed Forces. This waiver shall be retroactive for peace officers from the 8
date of September 11, 2001; 9
(f) Complies with all provisions of law applicable to police officers or police 10
departments, including transmission of data to the centralized criminal history 11
record information system as required by KRS 17.150 and transmission of 12
reports as required by KRS 15.391; 13
(g) Complies with all rules and regulations, appropriate to the size and location of 14
the police department issued by the cabinet to facilitate the administration of 15
the fund and further the purposes of KRS 15.410 to 15.510; 16
(h) Possesses a written policy and procedures manual related to domestic violence 17
for law enforcement agencies that has been approved by the cabinet. The 18
policy shall comply with the provisions of KRS 403.715 to 403.785. The 19
policy shall include a purpose statement; definitions; supervisory 20
responsibilities; procedures for twenty-four (24) hour access to protective 21
orders; procedures for enforcement of court orders or relief when protective 22
orders are violated; procedures for timely and contemporaneous reporting of 23
adult abuse and domestic violence to the Cabinet for Health and Family 24
Services, Department for Community Based Services; victim rights, 25
assistance, and service responsibilities; and duties related to timely completion 26
of records; 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS BR 2126
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(i) Possesses by January 1, 2023[2017], a written policy and procedures manual 1
related to sexual assault examinations that meets the standards provided by, 2
and has been approved by, the cabinet, and which includes: 3
1. A requirement that evidence collected as a result of an examination 4
performed under KRS 216B.400 be taken into custody within five (5) 5
days of notice from the collecting facility that the evidence is available 6
for retrieval; 7
2. A requirement that evidence received from a collecting facility relating 8
to an incident which occurred outside the jurisdiction of the police 9
department be transmitted to a police department with jurisdiction 10
within ten (10) days of its receipt by the police department; 11
3. A requirement that all evidence retrieved from a collecting facility under 12
this paragraph be transmitted to the Department of Kentucky State 13
Police forensic laboratory within thirty (30) days of its receipt by the 14
police department; 15
4. A requirement that a suspect standard, if available, be transmitted to the 16
Department of Kentucky State Police forensic laboratory with the 17
evidence received from a collecting facility; [and] 18
5. A process for notifying the victim from whom the evidence was 19
collected of the progress of the testing, whether the testing resulted in a 20
match to other DNA samples, and if the evidence is to be destroyed. The 21
policy may include provisions for delaying notice until a suspect is 22
apprehended or the office of the Commonwealth's attorney consents to 23
the notification, but shall not automatically require the disclosure of the 24
identity of any person to whom the evidence matched; and 25
6. A requirement that that DNA samples collected as a result of an 26
examination performed under KRS 216B.400 that are voluntarily 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS BR 2126
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submitted solely for elimination purposes shall not be checked against 1
any DNA index, retained, or included in any DNA index; and 2
(j) Requires all police officers to successfully complete by December 31, 2022, 3
and every two (2) years thereafter, a training course certified by the council of 4
not less than four (4) hours in emergency vehicle operation. 5
(2) A unit of government which meets the criteria of this section shall be eligible to 6
continue sharing in the distribution of funds from the Law Enforcement Foundation 7
Program fund only if the police department of the unit of government remains in 8
compliance with the requirements of this section. 9
(3) Deputies employed by a sheriff's office shall be eligible to participate in the 10
distribution of funds from the Law Enforcement Foundation Program fund 11
regardless of participation by the sheriff. 12
(4) Failure to meet a deadline established in a policy adopted pursuant to subsection 13
(1)(i) of this section for the retrieval or submission of evidence shall not be a basis 14
for a dismissal of a criminal action or a bar to the admissibility of the evidence in a 15
criminal action. 16
Section 2. KRS 17.175 is amended to read as follows: 17
(1) A centralized database of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) identification records for 18
convicted or adjudicated offenders, crime scene specimens, unidentified human 19
remains, missing persons, and close biological relatives of missing persons shall be 20
established in the Department of Kentucky State Police under the direction, control, 21
and supervision of the Department of Kentucky State Police forensic laboratory. 22
The established system shall be compatible with the procedures set forth in a 23
national DNA identification index to ensure data exchange on a national level. 24
(2) The purpose of the centralized DNA database is to assist federal, state, and local 25
criminal justice and law enforcement agencies within and outside the 26
Commonwealth in the identification, detection, or exclusion of individuals who are 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS BR 2126
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subjects of the investigation or prosecution of sex-related crimes, violent crimes, or 1
other crimes and the identification and location of missing and unidentified persons. 2
(3) (a) The Department of Kentucky State Police forensic laboratory shall receive, 3
analyze, and classify DNA samples received from the Department of 4
Corrections, the Department of Juvenile Justice, and other sources, and shall 5
file the DNA results in the centralized databases for law enforcement 6
identification and statistical purposes. The department shall analyze and 7
classify all sexual assault evidence collection kits it receives. In cases where a 8
suspect has been identified, the department may give priority to analysis and 9
classification of sexual assault evidence collection kits where the reference 10
standard for comparison is provided with the kit. Except as provided in 11
paragraph (e) of this subsection, by July 1, 2018, the average completion rate 12
for this analysis and classification shall not exceed ninety (90) days, and by 13
July 1, 2020, the average completion rate for this analysis and classification 14
shall not exceed sixty (60) days. 15
(b) Failure to meet the completion time goals established in paragraph (a) of this 16
subsection shall not be a basis for a dismissal of a criminal action or a bar to 17
the admissibility of evidence. 18
(c) The Department of Kentucky State Police shall, by August 1 of each year, 19
report to the Legislative Research Commission the yearly average completion 20
rate for the immediately preceding five (5) fiscal years. 21
(d) With approval by the secretary of the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet in 22
situations in which an equipment casualty necessitates the expedited 23
acquisition or repair of laboratory equipment required for the analysis of 24
evidence, the acquisition or repair shall be exempt from the Finance and 25
Administration Cabinet's competitive bidding process for both acquisition and 26
repair purposes. Each time the authority granted by this paragraph is used, the 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS BR 2126
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equipment acquisition or repair shall be fully documented within thirty (30) 1
days by the agency head in a written or electronic letter to the secretary of the 2
Finance and Administration Cabinet, attached to an ordering or payment 3
document in the state's procurement system, which shall include: 4
1. An explanation of the equipment acquired or repaired; 5
2. The name of the vendor selected; 6
3. The amount of procurement; 7
4. Other price quotations obtained; and 8
5. The basis for selection of the vendor. 9
(e) To the extent appropriated funds are insufficient to meet the average 10
completion time goals established in paragraph (a) of this subsection, the 11
Department of Kentucky State Police forensic laboratory shall no longer be 12
required to meet the average completion time goals. 13
(4) DNA identification records produced from the samples are not public records but 14
shall be confidential and used only for law enforcement purposes. DNA 15
identification records shall be exempt from the provisions of KRS 61.870 to 61.884. 16
(5) DNA identification records produced from evidence collected as a result of an 17
examination performed under KRS 216B.400 that are voluntarily submitted 18
solely for elimination purposes shall not be checked against or included in the 19
centralized database created pursuant to this section or any other database. 20
(6) A person whose DNA profile has been included in the data bank pursuant to this 21
chapter may request expungement on the grounds that the conviction or 22
adjudication on which the authority for including the DNA profile was based has 23
been reversed and the case dismissed, or that the person successfully completed the 24
pretrial diversion program under KRS 533.258 and the charges were dismissed-25
diverted. The Department of Kentucky State Police shall expunge all identifiable 26
information in the data bank pertaining to the person and destroy all samples from 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 22 RS BR 2126
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the person upon receipt of: 1
(a) A written request for expungement pursuant to this section; and 2
(b) Either: 3
1. A certified copy of the court order reversing and dismissing the 4
conviction or adjudication; or 5
2. A certified copy of the court order deeming the charges dismissed-6
diverted. 7
(7)[(6)] The cabinet shall promulgate administrative regulations necessary to carry out 8
the provisions of the DNA database identification system to include procedures for 9
collection of DNA samples and the database system usage and integrity. 10
(8)[(7)] The Department of Kentucky State Police shall destroy all DNA samples that 11
are not entered into the DNA database identification system. 12
(9)[(8)] Any person who disseminates, receives, or otherwise uses or attempts to use 13
information in the DNA database identification system, knowing that such 14
dissemination, receipt, or use is for a purpose other than authorized by this section, 15
shall be guilty of a Class D felony. 16