Texas 2011 - 82nd Regular

Texas House Bill HCR42 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Madden (Senate Sponsor - Williams) H.C.R. No. 42
2	2	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 4, 2011;
3	3	May 12, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on
4	4	Transportation and Homeland Security; May 20, 2011, reported
5	5	favorably by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 20, 2011, sent
6	6	to printer.)
7	7
8	8
9	9	HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
10	10	WHEREAS, The DNA testing backlog in Texas is estimated to be
11	11	several thousand cases despite the investment of millions of
12	12	taxpayer dollars to expedite the process; moreover, evidence from
13	13	tens of thousands of rape cases has not even been submitted to the
14	14	crime lab for testing and is currently in police storage; and
15	15	WHEREAS, Law enforcement officials depend on DNA technology
16	16	to help identify the guilty and protect victims' rights to justice
17	17	and due process, but current FBI guidelines for forensic DNA
18	18	testing laboratories create significant obstacles to efficient DNA
19	19	testing; and
20	20	WHEREAS, Private laboratories must meet the exact same
21	21	accreditation and quality assurance standards as government-run
22	22	labs, yet the FBI requires that all private lab data also be
23	23	rechecked by public labs, even though no such independent review of
24	24	public lab data is required; and
25	25	WHEREAS, Often, the burden for public labs to verify private
26	26	lab data has resulted in a decision not to enter into public-private
27	27	partnerships, in spite of the fact that such partnerships could
28	28	substantially reduce the backlog of cases awaiting analysis; and
29	29	WHEREAS, The City of Los Angeles, whose public lab is perhaps
30	30	the largest user of private lab assistance, has testified that it
31	31	does not find any meaningful errors in its review of private lab
32	32	analyses that would justify the current requirement; and
33	33	WHEREAS, In order to remain competitive in the marketplace,
34	34	private labs perform testing at a substantially lower cost than
35	35	public labs and are constantly investing in improvements that go
36	36	above and beyond minimum accreditation standards; still, this
37	37	cost-effective resource is underutilized; and
38	38	WHEREAS, Creating guidelines that facilitate public-private
39	39	partnerships is an inexpensive way to reduce the backlog, bring
40	40	justice to victims, protect taxpayer dollars, and help law
41	41	enforcement officers do their job; now, therefore, be it
42	42	RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas
43	43	hereby express support for the current FBI effort to reevaluate
44	44	existing policies, standards, and protocols for forensic DNA
45	45	testing laboratories, including the requirement that private lab
46	46	data be reviewed by public laboratories, and express its support
47	47	for any new policies, standards, and protocols that would hold
48	48	public and private labs to the same standards, audits, and review
49	49	process; and, be it further
50	50	RESOLVED, That the legislature respectfully urge the
51	51	Congress of the United States to pass any necessary federal
52	52	legislation that ensures continued quality in forensic science
53	53	while holding public and private lab DNA analysis to the same
54	54	standards, audits, and review process; and, be it further
55	55	RESOLVED, That the legislature further encourage Texas law
56	56	enforcement agencies at the state, county, and municipal levels to
57	57	use efficient forensic science review methods that will reduce and
58	58	eliminate DNA testing backlogs, thereby ensuring swift justice and
59	59	relief for the taxpayers in this state; and, be it further
60	60	RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
61	61	copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
62	62	the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of
63	63	Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the
64	64	members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that
65	65	this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a
66	66	memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.
67	67	* * * * *