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