BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1517 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 1517 (Skinner) As Amended May 23, 2014 Majority vote PUBLIC SAFETY 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |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 AB 1517 Page 2 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; AB 1517 Page 3 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, AB 1517 Page 4 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. AB 1517 Page 5 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 AB 1517 Page 6 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 FN: 0003654