SB 33-DNA FROM PERSONS CHARGED WITH FELONIES  9:59:01 AM CHAIR McGUIRE announced the consideration of SB 33. SENATOR GREEN moved to adopt the committee substitute (CS) for SB 33, labeled 25-LS0260\C, as the working draft. Hearing no objections, Version C was before the committee. SENATOR BUNDE said DNA is the 21st Century version of finger prints. He said DNA is collected with a swab of the cheek. SB 33 would allow a sample to be collected at the time of someone's arrest for a felony or a crime against a person, "along with fingerprints that are already a matter of course." When people are arrested, "all too often that's not their first crime." There are examples in other states where this is working well, he noted. He said he had a DNA sample taken and he could do it himself; it is not threatening or highly invasive. The suspect can be involved in unsolved crimes, but DNA is also exonerating people who are falsely accused. Crimes can be solved faster, freeing up the criminal justice system. If charges are dropped, the sample will be destroyed, he explained, and the DNA will only be used for law enforcement purposes. Federal law provides up to a $250,000 fine for the intentional misuse of DNA data, so the system will protect privacy while still providing for the public's safety by "getting the bad guys off the street." 10:03:28 AM JANE ALBERTS, Staff to Senator Bunde, added that there is federal funding available for lab expansion. SENATOR BUNDE said there is a fiscal note for over $300,000 initially and "a couple hundred thousand" per year. He said it is the price of public safety. SENATOR GREEN said this is an amendment of a current law, and it just expands when DNA samples can be taken. SENATOR BUNDE said people who are convicted are required to give DNA samples, and SB 33 expands that to people who are arrested for a felony or a crime against a person. It won't apply to shoplifters. He said he hears no outcry of fingerprinting being an invasion of privacy, and DNA is far more accurate. 10:05:46 AM CHAIR MCGUIRE said the Senate Judiciary Committee has been enacting DNA laws every few years. The initial implementation was a compromise that emphasized the power of DNA to exonerate as well as incriminate people. The law was expanded to collect DNA from individuals imprisoned for life, "and to be blunt it was aimed at the Butcher/Baker scenario." There has been an ongoing question of when DNA can be retrieved. She noted Senator Bunde's remark about crimes against a person, and Title 11 actually involves quite a few things, including offenses against persons, property, family, public administration, public order, health and decency, controlled substances, and miscellaneous offenses. 10:07:47 AM SENATOR BUNDE said he intended to match the existing net that is cast on DNA sampling. He was asked by a prosecutor to include crimes against a person because that is in the existing DNA law. CHAIR MCGUIRE said shoplifting at a felony level would be included, because it is Title 11. She asked what is meant by: "or a law or ordinance with elements similar to a crime." MS. ALBERTS said it was drafted that way to mirror what is done for convicted felons. CHAIR MCGUIRE said she thinks that might refer to a municipal crime or a federal crime. 10:09:40 AM SENATOR FRENCH surmised that the bill picks up all felonies and misdemeanor domestic violence and assaults. All white collar crimes would be included as long as they are felonies, including $500 or more shoplifting cases. CHAIR MCGUIRE surmised that the lessor crimes are only the crimes against the person and not the other parts of Title 11. SENATOR FRENCH said that his interpretation. CHAIR MCGUIRE said Title 11 crimes will be included, but the lessor crimes are only the crimes against a person. SENATOR BUNDE said he "didn't broaden the net, we just added where the sample would be taken." SENATOR FRENCH said people are innocent until proven guilty, and he agrees there is a parallel between a fingerprint and DNA, but it isn't a perfect parallel. Some people are concerned about unique genetic identifiers being disseminated, he noted. 10:12:32 AM SENATOR BUNDE said it isn't more invasive than a fingerprint, and there is a strong prohibition against misuse. If charges are dropped, that information is destroyed, he explained. SENATOR GREEN asked for an update on DNA usage to solve crimes. CHAIR MCGUIRE said she understands. DNA is a little different from a fingerprint in that it contains elements of private family history, and the more research that is done, the more interesting it becomes. 10:15:19 AM SENATOR BUNDE said Virginia began collecting DNA from arrestees in 2003 and solved 222 crimes linked to those very people. A Chicago study documented that 60 violent crimes could have been prevented if DNA samples were required during an arrest. CHAIR MCGUIRE noted a presentation showing some incredible trends and advocating this kind of law. "The further you go, the more crimes you end up solving," she stated. SENATOR STEVENS asked how the information is retracted once it is broadcast around the country, if the person is innocent. 10:17:27 AM SENATOR BUNDE said he didn't think the DNA information was broadcast, nor are family history or health issues analyzed. MICHELLE COLLINS, Criminologist, Alaska State Crime Lab, said the lab is looking at just a few portions of the DNA that have no relation to health history. SENATOR STEVENS asked about the DNA being broadcast around the county to check on crimes, and how that is then removed. 10:20:20 AM MS. COLLINS said the samples are uploaded to a national data base held and governed by the FBI. The FBI has the link to the other states, so there is no direct link between states. When charges are dropped or a conviction is overturned, the court orders the lab to destroy the sample and remove the profile. It is removed at the state level and at the national lab. It is never housed in another state, she explained. CHAIR MCGUIRE said once that sample is uploaded into CODIS, she assumes the states begin a process to see if it matches other samples even prior to the resolution of the charge. MS. COLLINS said the samples are allowed to be searched, but only by the FBI. The state is notified if there is a match. 10:22:36 AM MS. COLLINS said CODIS stands for Combined DNA Index System, and it is the database that was created and is regulated by the FBI. SENATOR FRENCH asked once the sample is uploaded into CODIS, are searches continually run. 10:23:41 AM MS. COLLINS said the FBI searches the national index once a week. In response to Senator French, she said once the match is made, it cannot be undone. There is a parallel system for fingerprints, she said. SENATOR STEVENS asked if an arrest was made for one crime and the sample solved another crime, would it be considered a false arrest. 10:26:30 AM SENATOR FRENCH said as long as it was a valid arrest, which 99 percent are, it would be hard to undo the match, but there may be other perspectives. CHAIR MCGUIRE said it would be interesting to know if someone's DNA matched a crime but the underlying arrest was dismissed if the DNA should not be allowed as evidence. "My hunch is that they'll get the evidence some way." 10:28:16 AM SENATOR BUNDE said if it was a trumped-up charge that led to the initial arrest, the sample could not be used. CHAIR MCGUIRE noted that there are good cops and bad cops, and she referred to the search and seizure laws. She announced she would hold SB 33 over.