BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 239
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Date of Hearing: May 11, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 239 (Ammiano) - As Amended: April 27, 2011
Policy Committee: Public
SafetyVote: 7-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
Requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to reconvene the Crime
Laboratory Review Task Force (CLRTF) to prepare a supplemental
report to the Legislature by July 1, 2013, which includes
recommendations regarding the composition of a statewide body to
perform specified tasks, including:
1)Overseeing investigations of misconduct committed by lab
employees or contractors.
2)Identifying systemic failures and corrective action.
3)Recommending an allocation of resources to crime laboratories
throughout the state to ensure funds are maximized and
distributed appropriately.
FISCAL EFFECT
One-time GF costs in the range of $100,000 to DOJ to administer
the task force - temporary staffing, operating expenses and
equipment and travel costs. Minor absorbable costs to various
state departments who would participate on the task force.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale. The author references a series of problems in crime
labs around the state as evidence for the need of a statewide
body to make recommendations to the Legislature regarding lab
oversight, protocols and improvements.
The author notes that in 2010, San Francisco's criminal
laboratory was hit with a scandal involving stolen drug
evidence, contaminated DNA samples, destroyed records, and
AB 239
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sample switching. This scandal resulted in hundreds of
narcotics cases being dropped due to possible evidence
tampering, and a review of more than 1,400 additional cases
for possible dismissal.
"Criminal laboratories play an integral role in the criminal
justice system, however cases of serious misconduct, neglect,
and poor practices cast doubt and mistrust in criminal cases
and the justice system. AB 239 seeks to address the critical
need of statewide crime laboratory oversight in California to
ensure that all criminal cases are handled fairly and
appropriately."
2)Previous legislation , AB 1079 (Richardson), 2007, created the
original CLRTF, which completed its required report in 2009.
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081