BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 1517
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          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
          AB 1517 (Skinner)
          As Amended  May 23, 2014
          Majority vote 

           PUBLIC SAFETY       7-0         APPROPRIATIONS      17-0        
           
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          |Ayes:|Ammiano, Melendez,    |Ayes:|Gatto, Bigelow, Bocanegra,    |
          |     |Jones-Sawyer, Quirk,  |     |Bradford,                     |
          |     |Skinner, Stone,       |     |Ian Calderon, Campos,         |
          |     |Waldron               |     |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez,      |
          |     |                      |     |Holden, Jones, Linder, Pan,   |
          |     |                      |     |Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Wagner, |
          |     |                      |     |Weber                         |
          |     |                      |     |                              |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           SUMMARY  :  Sets timelines for law enforcement agencies and crime  
          labs to perform and process deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing  
          of rape kit evidence.  Specifically,  this bill  :

          1)Provides that a law enforcement agency assigned to investigate  
            a sexual assault offense, as specified, should do one of the  
            following for any sexual assault forensic evidence received by  
            the law enforcement agency on or after January 1, 2016:

             a)   Submit sexual assault forensic evidence to the crime lab  
               within 10 days after it is booked into evidence; or,

             b)   Ensure that a rapid turnaround DNA program, as defined,  
               is in place to submit forensic evidence collected from the  
               victim of a sexual assault directly from the medical  
               facility where the victim is examined to the crime lab  
               within five days after the evidence is obtained from the  
               victim.

          2)States that the crime lab should do one of the following for  
            any sexual assault forensic evidence received by the crime lab  
            on or after January 1, 2016:

             a)   Process sexual assault forensic evidence, create DNA  
               profiles when able, and upload qualifying DNA profiles into  
               the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) as soon as  
               practically possible, but no later than 60 days after  








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               initially receiving this evidence; or,

             b)   Transmit the sexual assault forensic evidence to another  
               crime lab as soon as practically possible, but no later  
               than 30 days after initially receiving the evidence, for  
               processing of the evidence for the presence of DNA.  If a  
               DNA profile is created, the transmitting crime lab should  
               upload the profile into CODIS as soon as practically  
               possible, but no longer than 30 days after being notified  
               about the presence of DNA.

          3)Clarifies that this bill does not require a lab to test all  
            items of forensic evidence obtained in a sexual assault  
            forensic evidence examination.  A lab is considered to be in  
            compliance with the guidelines of this bill when  
            representative samples of the evidence are processed by the  
            lab in an effort to detect foreign DNA of the perpetrator.

          4)Provides that for specified sex offenses, if the law  
            enforcement agency does not analyze DNA evidence within six  
            months of the time limits established under current law, the  
            law enforcement agency shall inform the victim, either orally  
            or in writing, of that fact.
           
          5)Deletes the requirement under current law that the identity of  
            the perpetrator must be in issue, for cases involving a  
            specified sex offense, in order to require a law enforcement  
            agency to inform the victim that the agency has not analyzed  
            the DNA evidence.

           EXISTING LAW  :  

          1)Establishes the Sexual Assault Victims' DNA Bill of Rights  
            which provides victims of sexual assault with the following  
            rights:

             a)   The right to be informed whether or not a DNA profile of  
               the assailant was obtained from the testing of the rape kit  
               evidence or other crime scene evidence from their case;

             b)   The right to be informed whether or not the DNA profile  
               of the assailant developed from the rape kit evidence or  
               other crime scene evidence has been entered into the  
               Department of Justice (DOJ) Data Bank of case evidence;  








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               and,

             c)   The right to be informed whether or not there is a match  
               between the DNA profile of the assailant developed from the  
               rape kit evidence or other crime scene evidence and a DNA  
               profile contained in the DOJ Convicted Offender DNA Data  
               Base, provided that disclosure would not impede or  
               compromise an ongoing investigation. 

          2)States the intent of the Legislature that a law enforcement  
            agency assigned to investigate specified sexual assault  
            offenses should perform DNA testing of rape kit evidence or  
            other crime scene evidence in a timely manner in order to  
            assure the longest possible statute of limitations.

          3)States if the law enforcement agency elects not to analyze DNA  
            evidence within the established time limits, a victim of a  
            sexual assault offense as specified, where the identity of the  
            perpetrator is in issue, shall be informed, either orally or  
            in writing, of that fact by the law enforcement agency.

          4)Requires, if the law enforcement agency intends to destroy or  
            dispose of rape kit evidence or other crime scene evidence  
            from an unsolved sexual assault case prior to the expiration  
            of the statute of limitations, a victim of sexual assault, as  
            specified, to be given written notification by the law  
            enforcement agency of that intention.

          5)Provides that written notification shall be made at least 60  
            days prior to the destruction or disposal of the rape kit  
            evidence or other crime scene evidence from an unsolved sexual  
            assault case where the election not to analyze the DNA or the  
            destruction or disposal occurs prior to the expiration of the  
            statute of limitations.
           
           6)States notwithstanding any other limitation of time described,  
            a criminal complaint may be filed within one year of the date  
            on which the identity of the suspect is conclusively  
            established by DNA testing, if both of the following  
            conditions are met:

             a)   The crime is one that requires the defendant to register  
               as a sex offender; and,









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             b)   The offense was committed prior to January 1, 2001, and  
               biological evidence collected in connection with the  
               offense is analyzed for DNA type no later than January 1,  
               2004, or the offense was committed on or after January 1,  
               2001, and biological evidence collected in connection with  
               the offense is analyzed for DNA type no later than two  
               years from the date of the offense.

          7)States, notwithstanding any other limitation of time  
            described, prosecution for a specified felony sex offense  
            shall be commenced within 10 years after the commission of the  
            offense.
           
          FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, significant General Fund, special fund, and local  
          costs, potentially in the $5 million range, to reduce the  
          turnaround time for state and local crime labs to process  
          evidence and upload DNA profiles into CODIS from "a timely  
          manner" to 60 days. 

          For example, preliminary estimates from Los Angeles (L.A.)  
          officials indicate costs to its labs would be about $1 million  
          per year, based on reducing the average turnaround time of  
          90-120 days to 60 days.  This assumes about 10 DNA examiners  
          plus additional equipment.  Assuming L.A. County accounts for  
          about 30% of the cases, with about 25% handled by DOJ,  
          extrapolating from this preliminary L.A. estimate results in an  
          additional $1 million to $2 million from the remaining local  
          labs.   

          DOJ handles crime lab functions for 46 counties, representing  
          about 25% of the state population. Reducing the turnaround time  
          to 60 days would result in ongoing staffing costs of about $1  
          million. 

          Significant nonreimbursable local law enforcement costs,  
          potentially in the millions of dollars, to reduce the turnaround  
          time for submitting evidence to crime labs from "a timely  
          manner" to 10 days.  

          For example, if the 20 largest local law enforcement  
          jurisdictions required one additional personnel years, and the  
          next 20 largest required an additional half personnel year,  
          annual statewide cost could exceed $2 million.








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           COMMENTS :  According to the author "California Penal Code 680,  
          the Sexual Assault Victims' DNA Bill of Rights, identifies DNA  
          as a powerful tool for identifying and prosecuting sexual  
          assault offenders. DNA is found on physical evidence, such as  
          clothing or bedding, and on the victim's or the suspect's body.   
          DNA is gathered from a victim in a specialized forensic medical  
          examination.  The forensic evidence is then collected and  
          packaged in what is commonly referred to as a 'rape kit.'  Once  
          booked into evidence by law enforcement, the rape kit can be  
          sent to a crime lab for processing and DNA analysis. At the  
          crime lab, a DNA profile can be created if sufficient DNA from a  
          perpetrator is found, and the perpetrator's DNA profile can be  
          uploaded into the FBI's national DNA database, CODIS.

            "While DNA can help to identify unknown offenders, most sexual  
            assaults are committed by persons who are known to the victim.  
             Therefore, identity is not an issue in most sexual assaults.   
            But testing rape kits in those cases still has value.  Even  
            when an offender is known, uploading DNA profiles from the  
            suspect can yield matches to other cases in which the suspect  
            is unknown, resulting in 'cold hits' to connect the suspect  
            with other unsolved crimes.

            "A victim who agrees to a forensic examination following a  
            sexual assault reasonably expects that evidence collected from  
            the exam will be analyzed. Untested rape kits mean lost  
            opportunities to develop DNA profiles, search for matches, and  
            link cold cases. Delays can also preclude criminal charges  
            from ever being filed against rapists who are identified long  
            after their crimes.  Current state law provides a ten  
            year-statute of limitations for most rape cases, but has an  
            exception - allowing criminal charges to be filed within one  
            year of the date when the suspect is conclusively identified -  
            for cases involving DNA evidence as long as the DNA is  
            analyzed within two years of the crime. (Penal Code Section  
            803(g)(1)(A)(B).)

            "The California Department of Justice has implemented a Rapid  
            DNA Service (RDS) in 46 counties which could be a model for  
            the entire state.  Nurses who perform sexual assault  
            examinations in those counties receive three probative body  
            swabs in addition to the materials in regular rape kits, and  
            send those three swabs directly to a DOJ lab for expedited  








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            processing.  DOJ analyzes the swabs using large-batch  
            automated DNA analysis, informs local law enforcement agencies  
            of its findings, and uploads DNA profiles to CODIS when  
            appropriate.  In most cases, this process takes only 15 days."

          Please see the policy committee for a full discussion of this  
          bill.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Stella Choe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 


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