BILL NUMBER: AB 2387 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 24, 2008
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Saldana
FEBRUARY 21, 2008
An act to add Division 117 (commencing with Section 150800) to the
Health and Safety Code, relating to biosamples.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2387, as amended, Saldana. Biosample storage.
Existing law requires the Department of Justice to develop
standards and guidelines for the preservation and storage of DNA
samples collected to aid in identifying missing persons.
This bill would require a state agency and any public or
private recipient of state funds that maintains biosamples
in refrigerated storage to implement an automated biosample archival
and retrieval system that meets prescribed requirements, and label
each biosample with a unique combination of nonhuman DNA sequences,
as provided.
This bill would provide that the above requirements shall not
apply to a state agency that completes a technical confirmation, as
specified, of the storage technology required by the bill within 120
days of when the above provisions first become applicable to the
agency, and the technical confirmation clearly demonstrates, through
scientific evidence, that the technology does not meet the agency's
biosample storage and archival needs. This bill would require the
state agency to submit a written summary report of the technical
confirmation findings to the Legislature, make a copy of the report
available to the public upon request, and post a copy of the report
on the agency's Internet Web site.
The bill would define biosample to include, but not be limited to,
DNA samples, bioresearch samples, and neonatal screening cards.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature to do all of the
following:
(a) Ensure that California has the most effective and efficient
methods and technologies available to process, archive, and retrieve
biosamples.
(b) Dramatically decrease California's carbon footprint by
reducing the energy that is currently consumed in order to maintain
and grow its biosample archives.
(c) Concurrently decrease the time it takes to process offenders
and do the biosample research, which will reduce overall crime rates,
reduce the number of wrongful convictions, and promote scientific
research leading to new treatments for disease.
SEC. 2. Division 117 (commencing with Section 150800) is added to
the Health and Safety Code, to read:
DIVISION 117. Biosample Storage
150800. For purposes of this division, the term "biosample"
includes, but is not limited to, DNA samples, bioresearch samples,
and neonatal screening cards.
150801. Any state agency and any public or private
recipient of state funds, that maintains biosamples in
refrigerated storage, shall do both of the following:
(a) Implement an automated biosample archival and retrieval system
that maintains biosamples in a stable, dry,
room-temperature format, suitable for long-term archiving and
simplified distribution.
(b) Label each biosample with a unique combination of nonhuman DNA
sequences that are applied to each DNA sample within the archive
during the manufacturing process in order to ensure permanent sample
identification.
150802. (a) The requirements of Section 150801, hereafter
referred to as "required storage technology," shall not apply to a
state agency that completes a technical confirmation of the required
storage technology within 120 days of when that section first becomes
applicable to the state agency, and the technical confirmation
clearly demonstrates, through scientific evidence, that the required
storage technology does not meet the agency's biosample storage and
archival needs.
(b) The technical confirmation shall include at least the
following:
(1) A complete inventory of the biosamples, both refrigerated and
nonrefrigerated, currently stored by the agency. The inventory shall
include data indicating the current number, types, and methods of
storage of the biosamples stored by the agency.
(2) An assessment, using best available technology, of the
stability and efficiency of the storage technology currently used by
the state agency to store biosamples. The agency may use either all
of its biosamples or a representative sample of its biosamples in the
assessment of its current storage technology. If the agency uses a
representative sample, it shall specify which types of biosamples
were used. If the type of biosample currently stored by the state
agency is widely used, such as blood or buccal swabs, and abundant
published data is available about the storage technology used for
those types of biosamples, the published data may be used in lieu of
providing the assessment otherwise required by this paragraph.
(3) An assessment, using best available technology, of the
stability and efficiency of the required storage technology. In
conducting this assessment, the agency shall try using the required
storage technology for either all of its biosamples or a
representative sample of its biosamples. If the agency uses a
representative sample, it shall specify which types of biosamples
were used. The assessment of the required storage technology shall be
conducted in a manner consistent with the product specifications
provided by the supplier of the required storage technology.
(4) A comparison of the data generated pursuant to paragraphs (2)
and (3).
(c) Upon completion of the technical confirmation, the state
agency shall submit a written summary report of the technical
confirmation findings to the Legislature, make a copy of the report
available to the public upon request, and post a copy of the report
on the agency's Internet Web site.