The House Judiciary Committee heard Rep. Steuerwald’s HB 1577 requiring DNA samples of felony arrestees after June 30, 2017, and specifies that the sample may be obtained only by buccal swab. This bill provides for the expungement of a DNA sample taken from a person if the person is acquitted of all felony charges, all felony charges are dismissed, or no charges have been filed after 30 days. It also requires the officer who obtains a DNA sample from a person to inform the person of the right to DNA expungement and to provide the person with a form that may be used for DNA expungement, and permits the use of evidence other than a court order for expungement. The bill increases the DNA sample processing fee from $2 to $4. This bill also allocates $500,000 semiannually to hold harmless all funds and to provide an additional amount to the DNA processing fund. The bill specifies that the discovery of DNA evidence tending to show previously unknown crimes committed by a person on bail may lead to revocation of bail or an increase in the amount of bail. Current law provides for DNA sampling of all persons convicted of felonies.
A representative of The Surviving Parents Coalition described the DNA sampling procedure for the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) and urged legislators to have Indiana join the thirty other states, the federal government, and the Virgin Islands in authorizing the taking of DNA samples from all felony arrestees. The Public Defender Council did not oppose the bill but urged that (1) it be amended to provide, as thirteen states have done, for “automatic expungement” by authorities rather than requiring the arrested person to seek the expungement and (2) to protect against arrests made without probable cause solely to obtain a sample. Representatives of the Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault, the Indiana Sheriffs’ Association, and the Prosecuting Attorneys Council spoke in support of the bill. Personnel from the State Police Laboratory answered questions. Judge Robert Freese, Hendricks Superior Court 1, spoke in support. An amendment to conform the bill to federal expungement requirements was adopted by consent. The bill passed 11-0.
Read the bill at: https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2017/bills/house/1577