House Bill 820

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE SUBMISSION AND ANALYSIS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT EVIDENCE; TO PROVIDE THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY SHALL ADMINISTER THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT AND SHALL PROMULGATE RULES AND REGULATIONS TO CARRY OUT THE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS ACT; TO PROVIDE FOR EXPUNCTION OF EVIDENCE NOT CONNECTED WITH A CRIMINAL CASE; TO PROVIDE NOTICE PROVISIONS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. (1) As used in this section, "sexual assault evidence" means human biological specimen collected by a health care provider in connection with a sexual assault investigation, including, but not limited to, evidence submitted to the Department of Public Safety or other law enforcement agency for either a serology or deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analysis.

(2) Law enforcement agencies that receive sexual assault evidence in connection with the investigation of a criminal case shall submit evidence from the case within ten (10) business days of receipt to a Department of Public Safety forensic laboratory or a laboratory approved and designated by the Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety. Sexual assault evidence received by a law enforcement agency within thirty (30) days prior to the effective date of this act shall be submitted pursuant to this section.

(3) All sexual assault evidence submitted pursuant to subsection (2) of this section shall be analyzed within six (6) months after receipt of all necessary evidence and standards by the Department of Public Safety or other designated laboratory if sufficient staffing and resources are available.

(4) The failure of a law enforcement agency to submit the sexual assault evidence collected on or after the effective date of this act within ten (10) business days after receipt shall in no way alter the authority of the law enforcement agency to:

(a) Submit the evidence to the Department of Public Safety forensic laboratory or designated laboratory to accept and analyze the evidence or specimen; or

(b) Maintain or upload the results of genetic marker grouping analysis information into a local, state, or national database in accordance with established protocol.

(5) Each submission of sexual assault evidence submitted for analysis shall be accompanied by the following signed certification: "This evidence is being submitted by (name of investigating law enforcement agency) in connection with a prior or current criminal investigation."

(6) If the Department of Public Safety receives written confirmation from the investigating law enforcement agency, district attorney or Attorney General's office that a DNA record that has been uploaded into a local, state or national DNA database was not connected to a criminal investigation, the DNA record shall be expunged from the DNA database and the Department of Public Safety shall, by rule, prescribe procedures to ensure that written confirmation is sent to the submitting law enforcement agency verifying the expunction.

(7) The failure to expunge a DNA record or strictly comply with the provisions of subsection (6) of this section shall not be grounds for challenging the validity of a database match or database information, and evidence based upon or derived from the DNA record may not be excluded by a court.

(8) By July 1, 2015, each law enforcement agency shall provide written notice to the Department of Public Safety, in a form and manner prescribed by the Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, stating the number of sexual assault cases in the custody of the law enforcement agency that have not been previously submitted to a laboratory for analysis. Within one hundred eighty (180) days after the effective date of this act, appropriate arrangements shall be made between the law enforcement agency and the Department of Public Safety, or a laboratory approved and designated by the Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, to ensure that all cases that were collected prior to the effective date of this act and are, or were at the time of collection, the subject of a criminal investigation, are submitted to the Department of Public Safety, or a laboratory approved and designated by the Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety.

(9) By January 1, 2016, the Department of Public Safety shall submit to the Governor, the Attorney General, and both houses of the Legislature a plan for analyzing cases submitted pursuant to this section. The plan shall include, but not be limited to, a timeline for completion of analysis and a summary of the inventory received, as well as requests for funding and resources necessary to meet the established timeline, should the Department of Public Safety determine it is necessary to outsource the forensic testing of the cases submitted in accordance with this section.

(10) The Department of Public Safety is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this section.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2014.