BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 390
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Date of Hearing: May 6, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
390 (Cooper) - As Amended April 6, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
Yes
SUMMARY:
This bill includes individuals convicted of specified
misdemeanors (such as shoplifting, forgery, check fraud, etc.)
to the list of convicted individuals who must provide buccal
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swab samples (DNA), right thumbprints, and a full palm print
impression of each hand, and any blood specimens or other
biological samples, for law enforcement identification analysis.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)Potential reimbursable state mandated costs in the hundreds of
thousands (GF) for the additional requirements on misdemeanors
offenses. Some of these costs may not be covered under
Proposition 69 funding because the misdemeanors identified in
this bill were not violent felonies.
2)Minor absorbable costs to the Department of Justice.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, "AB 390 will allow for
restoration of DNA sample collection for crimes which were
previously felonies but were reclassified as misdemeanors by
Proposition 47. The passage of Proposition 47 created an
unintended consequence which will limit the ability of law
enforcement to solve rapes, murders, robberies and other
serious and violent crimes through reliable DNA evidence.
With one of the largest databases in the world, California has
been able to accurately identify those who have committed
prior unsolved violent crimes. This has benefitted the people
of California by allowing for the introduction of reliable
scientific evidence that provides powerful proof of identity,
both in exonerating some individuals and convicting others."
"AB 390 reaffirms Proposition 69 by making the criminal
justice system more reliable and more just through accurate
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and expeditious identification using DNA of recidivist
criminal offenders, and by focusing investigations on existing
unsolved rapes, murders, robberies and other serious and
violent cases."
2)Proposition 69: Proposition 69 was passed by the voters in
2004. That proposition expanded the categories of people
required to provide DNA samples for law enforcement
identification analysis to include any adult person arrested
or charged with any felony offense. Proposition 69 provided
for an expungement process for those individuals who were not
convicted of a qualifying offense and had no prior qualifying
offense.
3)Proposition 47, passed by the voters in 2014, provided that
certain offense can only be charged and punished as
misdemeanors. The offenses that were affected were
predominantly "wobblers" an offense which can be charged as a
felony, or a misdemeanor, at the discretion of the district
attorney's office responsible for charging the crime. The
only offense affected by Proposition 47 that was chargeable
exclusively as a felony was possession of specified drugs,
primarily cocaine.
The proposed legislation requires that DNA samples be taken
from individuals convicted of misdemeanors that were all
affected by Prop. 47. Given that these offenses were wobblers
(except possession of cocaine), an individual arrested for one
of these offenses, could have been arrested for a felony or a
misdemeanor, at the discretion of the arresting officer or the
district attorney's offices responsible for making charging
decisions. Thus, many instances covered by the proposed
legislation would not have triggered DNA collection prior to
Proposition 47.
4)Argument in Support. According to the California Peace
Officers Association (CPOA), "AB 390 will enhance California's
DNA Fingerprint, Unsolved Crime and Innocent Protection Act to
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include specified misdemeanor convictions subject to DNA
sample database collection when such crimes are committed by
adult offenders. Solving rapes, murders, and other serious or
violent crimes through reliable DNA evidence will help keep
neighborhoods safe from dangerous recidivist offenders who
would otherwise remain undetected. The Association for Los
Angeles Deputy Sheriffs, the Association of Deputy District
Attorneys, the California Association of Code Enforcement
Officers, the California College and University Police Chiefs
Association, the California Narcotic Officers Association, the
Los Angeles Police Protective League and the Riverside
Sheriffs Association are all in favor of Assembly Bill 390.
We commend you for bringing this bill forward."
1)Argument in Opposition. According to The American Civil
Liberties Union of California, "AB 390 is an unnecessary
invasion of our privacy and undermines the will of California
voters who, by passing Proposition 47, determined that the
minor crimes targeted by AB 390 should not be treated like
felonies.
2)Related Legislation: AB 84 (Gatto), in this committee, expands
the collection of DNA samples to include persons convicted of
specified misdemeanors; authorizes samples collected during
felony arrests to be forwarded to Department of Justice (DOJ)
upon a judicial finding of probable cause, if the California
Supreme Court upholds the decision in People v. Buza; and
streamlines the process to expunge DNA samples and profiles,
if the California Supreme Court upholds the decision in People
v. Buza.
Analysis Prepared by:Pedro R. Reyes / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
AB 390
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