|
Senate Bill 1616 |
Senate Author: West |
|
Effective: 6-17-11 |
House Sponsor: Gallego et al. |
Senate Bill 1616 expands Code of Criminal Procedure provisions relating to the preservation of certain evidence containing biological material in a criminal case in which a defendant is convicted to include requirements relating to the collection, storage, preservation, analysis, retrieval, and destruction of biological evidence, defined as the contents of a sexual assault examination kit or certain specified identifiable biological material collected as part of an investigation of an alleged felony offense or conduct by a juvenile constituting a felony offense that might reasonably be used to establish the identity of the offender or to exclude a person from the group of offenders. The bill requires a governmental or public entity or an individual, including a law enforcement agency, prosecutor's office, court, public hospital, or crime laboratory, that is charged with the collection, storage, preservation, analysis, or retrieval of biological evidence to ensure that biological evidence collected pursuant to an investigation or prosecution of a felony offense or conduct constituting a felony offense is retained and preserved for specified periods. The bill establishes the periods based on the existence of an unapprehended actor associated with the offense or certain factors relating to the defendant's death, completion of a sentence, term of community supervision, or term of juvenile probation, or release on parole, mandatory supervision, or juvenile probation. The Department of Public Safety must adopt, not later than September 1, 2012, standards and rules relating to the collection, storage, preservation, and retrieval of biological evidence and must consult with certain law enforcement agencies, law enforcement associations, scientific experts, and organizations in adopting the initial standards and rules. An entity or individual charged with the collection, storage, preservation, analysis, or retrieval of biological evidence is not required to comply with the adopted standards and rules before January 1, 2013.