BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 855 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 855 (Ma and Hagman) As Amended March 21, 2011 Majority vote PUBLIC SAFETY 7-0 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Ammiano, Knight, Cedillo, | | | | |Hagman, Hill, Mitchell, | | | | |Skinner | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY : Allows funds remaining in a local DNA Identification Fund to be expended by a local law enforcement agency for the costs of using an authorized, independent laboratory, other than the Department of Justice (DOJ), to analyze and expedite the testing of DNA samples. Specifically, this bill : 1)Provides reimbursements to a local sheriff, police, district attorney, or regional state crime laboratory for expenditures and administrative costs made or incurred for utilizing a laboratory that meets state and federal requirements, as specified. 2)Requires authorization by a resolution of the county board of supervisors. EXISTING LAW : 1)States that except as otherwise provided in this section, for the purpose of implementing the DNA Fingerprint, Unsolved Crime and Innocence Protection Act, there shall be levied an additional penalty of $1 for every $10, or part of $10, in each county upon every fine, penalty, or forfeiture imposed and collected by the courts for all criminal offenses, including all offenses involving a violation of the Vehicle Code or any local ordinance adopted pursuant to the Vehicle Code. 2)States that the penalty imposed by this section shall be collected together with and in the same manner as specified sections. These moneys shall be taken from fines and forfeitures deposited with the county treasurer prior to any divisions as specified. The board of supervisors shall establish in the county treasury a DNA Identification Fund into which shall be deposited the collected AB 855 Page 2 moneys pursuant to this section. The moneys of the fund shall be allocated. 3)States that this additional penalty does not apply to the following: a) Any restitution fine; b) Specified penalties authorized under the Penal Code; c) Specified parking offenses; and, d) The state surcharge authorized by the Penal Code, 4)Provides that the fund moneys described, together with any interest earned thereon, shall be held by the county treasurer separate from any funds subject to transfer or division pursuant to Penal Code Section 1463. Deposits to the fund may continue through and including the 20th year after the initial calendar year in which the surcharge is collected, or longer if and as necessary to make payments upon any lease or leaseback arrangement utilized to finance any of the projects specified herein. FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel. COMMENTS : According to the author, "AB 855 will allow law enforcement and district attorneys to access the services of independent crime laboratories for the purpose of expediting the testing and analysis of DNA samples, primarily rape kits. "Two years ago in Yuba County, biological samples from a rape case involving a female AFB airperson, were submitted to the Department of Justice for processing. The sample was submitted January 25th, 2008, but the DNA analysis was not returned until February 4th, 2009 - over a year later. During this period, the victim's deployment to Afghanistan/Iraq was delayed. If Yuba County had been able to contract independent laboratories for the analysis, the results would have been expedited in as little as two weeks. "In 2004, Proposition 69 was passed, increasing various fines to assist with the funding for the DNA Identification Fund for DNA labs, both state and local. Consequentially, the backlogs for DNA testing have been eliminated in several counties due to an increase AB 855 Page 3 in funds in their DNA Identification Fund accounts. "However, the backlog of DNA remains an issue for California as it hinders the successful removal of criminals from the streets due to a vast amount of pending cases. In 2008, the Los Angeles Police Department noted 6,132 rape kits containing various DNA materials gathered from the bodies of victims and from the crime scenes. This is evidence that would likely assist with the proper identification of criminals. At the end of February 2011, the California Department of Justice reported a backlog of 35,409 DNA samples. But on a larger scale, 400,000 untested rape kits remain in police storage throughout the United States. "Some counties right now may have to wait well over a year for a DNA result; however, a private lab can produce the results for that same case in two weeks. The victims of these crimes deserve fast, as well as efficient, results so their case can be heard and they can begin to move forward with their lives. "AB 855 explicitly allows counties to use remaining funds from the state's DNA Identification Fund to compensate law enforcement and district attorneys in order to use independent laboratories to accelerate the analysis of samples, in this case rape kits. "This bill offers the unique opportunity for local law enforcement agencies to exponentially speed up the process at which these DNA kits are currently being processed, without compromising the results. "The bill does not impact funding distributed to the State lab under the program. AB 855 simply allows for remaining dollars otherwise unusable at the local level." Please see the policy committee for a full discussion of this bill. Analysis Prepared by : Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0000347