Honorable Joe Driver, Chair, House Committee on Law Enforcement
FROM:
John S. O'Brien, Deputy Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB1068 by Driver (Relating to the collection and analysis of evidence and testimony based on forensic analysis, crime laboratory accreditation, DNA testing, and the creation and maintenance of DNA records; providing a penalty.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
The provision of the bill that is the subject of this analysis would amend the Government Code by creating the offense of refusal to provide sample. A person would commit an offense if the person knowingly fails or refuses to provide a DNA sample as required by law. The offense of refusal to provide sample would be punishable as a felony of the third degree.
The current practice of requiring and collecting DNA samples is limited to select felony adult and juvenile offenders. The bill would require all adult felony offenders placed on community supervision or deferred adjudication, or confined in a penal institution operated by or under the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) to provide a DNA sample. For fiscal year 2004, there were 54,905 adult community supervision placements (including deferred adjudication) and 150,709 offenders incarcerated in facilities operated by or under the authority of TDCJ. Juvenile felony offenders adjudicated for a felony offense, confined in a facility operated by the Texas Youth Commission (TYC), or placed on deferred adjudication would also be required to submit a DNA sample. For fiscal year 2004, there were 11,681 juvenile community supervision placements (including deferred adjudication). TYC estimates that in fiscal year 2006 they would need to take DNA samples from 4,386 youth already committed to the agency. Additional tests would be required of new commitments, which TYC estimates as 1,232 in fiscal year 2006.
Because a large number of felony offenders would be required to submit a DNA sample upon placement on probation or deferred adjudication or confinement in a TDCJ or TYC facility as proposed by the bill, the impact of individuals refusing to submit a DNA sample and being charged with a third degree felony could potentially be significant. The number of future felony offenders that would refuse to submit a DNA sample is unknown. However, as a comparison, TDCJ reports that in fiscal year 2004 22,894 DNA samples were taken. In 270 instances, or 1.2% of the time, offenders refused to provide a sample. The 270 refusals included offenders who refused to submit a sample on multiple occasions. Currently, TDCJ inmates may lose good time earned for refusal to provide a sample but no felony sanctions can be applied. With enhanced sanctions for refusal to submit a DNA sample it is assumed that the number of future refusals would be smaller than the current 1.2% refusal rate reported for TDCJ inmates.