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
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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 |
| | | | |
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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
FN: 0003654