AB 1848, as amended, Chiu. DNA evidence.
Existing law establishes the “Sexual Assault Victims’ DNA Bill of Rights,” which, among other things, encourages a law enforcement agency assigned to investigate specified sexual assault offenses to perform DNA testing of rape kit evidence or other crime scene evidence in a timely manner to assure the longest possible statute of limitations. Existing law also requires a law enforcement agency to inform victims of certain unsolved sexual assault offenses if the law enforcement agency elects not to analyze DNA evidence within certain time limits.
This bill would require law enforcement agencies to report information regarding rape kit evidence to the department through a database established by the department. The bill would require that information to include, among other things, the number of kits collected, the number of kits from which one or more biological evidence samples were submitted to a DNA laboratory for analysis, and the number of kits from which a probative DNA profile was generated. The bill would additionally require a public DNA laboratory, or a law enforcement agency contracting with a private laboratory, to provide a reason for not testing a sample every 120 days the sample is untested, except as specified. By imposing additional duties on local law enforcement, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.
This bill would require the department to file a report to the Legislature on an annual basis summarizing the information in its database. The bill would prohibit law enforcement agencies or laboratories from being compelled to provide any contents of the database in a civil or criminal case, except as required by a law enforcement agency’s duty to produce exculpatory evidence to a defendant in a criminal case.
Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 680.1 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
(a) The Legislature finds and declares the following:
3(1) There is a significant public interest in knowing what
4percentage of rapebegin delete kit biological samplesend deletebegin insert kitsend insert are analyzed for the
5perpetrator’s DNA profile, as well as why any untested rapebegin delete kit begin insert kitsend insert are not analyzed. Currently, there is no mandatory
6samplesend delete
P3 1statewide tracking
mechanism in place to collect and report these
2metrics. It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this section,
3pursuant to recommendations by the California State Auditor to
4the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, to correct that.
5(2) In 2015, the Department of Justice created the Sexual Assault
6Forensic Evidence Tracking (SAFE-T) database to track the status
7
of all sexual assault evidence kits collected in the state based on
8voluntary data input from law enforcement agencies. It is the intent
9of the Legislature by enacting this section to require participation
10in that database.
11(b) On a schedule set forth by the Department of Justice, each
12law enforcement agency that has investigated a case involving the
13collection of sexual assault kit evidence during the relevant period
14of time, as determined by the department, shall report to the
15department, through the SAFE-T database, the data required by
16the department in its communications to law enforcement. The
17data shall include, but are not limited to, the following:
18(1) The number of kits collected during the period.
19(2) The number of kits from which one or more biological
20evidence samples were submitted to a DNA laboratory for analysis.
21(3) The number of kits from which a probative DNA profile
22was generated.
23(4) The reason or reasons for not submitting evidence from a
24given rape kit to a DNA laboratory for processing.
25(c) After 120 days following submission of rape kit biological
26evidence for processing, if a public DNA laboratory has not
27conducted DNA testing, that laboratory shall provide the reasons
28for the status in the appropriate SAFE-T data field. If the
29investigating law enforcement agency has contracted with a private
30laboratory to conduct DNA testing on rape kit evidence, the
31submitting law enforcement agency
shall provide the 120-day
32update in SAFE-T. The process described in this subdivision shall
33take place every 120 days until DNA testing occurs, except as
34provided in subdivision (d).
35(d) Upon expiration of a sexual assault case’s statute of
36limitations set forth in Section 803, or if a law enforcement agency
37elects not to analyze the DNA or intends to destroy or dispose of
38the crime scene evidence pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section
39680, the investigating law enforcement agency shall state in writing
40the reason the kit collected as part of that case’s investigation was
P4 1not analyzed. This written statement relieves the investigating law
2enforcement agency or public laboratory of any further duty to
3report information related to that kit pursuant to this section.
4(e) The
SAFE-T database shall not contain any identifying
5information about a victim or a suspect, shall not contain any DNA
6profiles, and shall not contain any information that would impair
7a pending criminal investigation.
8(f) On an annual basis, the Department of Justice shall file a
9report to the Legislature in compliance with Section 9795 of the
10Government Code summarizing data entered into the SAFE-T
11database during that year. The report shall not reference individual
12victims, suspects, investigations, or prosecutions. The report shall
13be made public by the department.
14(g) Except as provided in subdivision (f), in order to protect the
15confidentiality of the SAFE-T database information, SAFE-T
16database contents shall be confidential and a participating law
17enforcement agency or
laboratory shall not be compelled in a
18criminal or civil proceeding, except as required bybegin delete a law
19
enforcement agency’s duty to produce exculpatory evidence to a
20criminal defendant,end delete
21provide any SAFE-T database contents to any person or party
22seeking those records or information.
The Legislature finds and declares that Section 1 of
24this act, which adds Section 680.1 to the Penal Code, imposes a
25limitation on the public’s right of access to the meetings of public
26bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies within the
27meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution.
28Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the Legislature makes
29the following findings to demonstrate the interest protected by this
30limitation and the need for protecting that interest:
31In order to protect the privacy of victims of crime, it is necessary
32to keep the information in the SAFE-T database confidential.
If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
34this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
35local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
36pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
374 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
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