[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 497 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
103d CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 497
To amend title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of
1968 to authorize funds received by States and units of local
government to be expended to improve the quality and availability of
DNA records, to authorize the establishment of a DNA identification
index, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 3, 1993
Mr. Simon introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of
1968 to authorize funds received by States and units of local
government to be expended to improve the quality and availability of
DNA records, to authorize the establishment of a DNA identification
index, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``DNA Identification Act of 1993''.
SEC. 2. DNA IDENTIFICATION.
(a) Funding To Improve the Quality and Availability of DNA Analyses
for Law Enforcement Identification Purposes.--
(1) Drug control and system improvement grant program.--
Section 501(b) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe
Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3751(b)) is amended--
(A) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph
(20);
(B) by striking the period at the end of paragraph
(21) and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
``(23) developing or improving in a forensic laboratory a
capability to analyze deoxyribonucleic acid (referred to in
this title as `DNA') for identification purposes.''.
(2) State applications.--Section 503(a) of title I of the
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C.
3753(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
``(12) If any part of a grant made under this part is to be
used to develop or improve a DNA analysis capability in a
forensic laboratory, a certification that--
``(A) DNA analyses performed at the laboratory will
satisfy or exceed then current standards for a quality
assurance program for DNA analysis issued by the
Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation under
section 2(b) of the DNA Identification Act of 1993;
``(B) DNA samples obtained by and DNA analyses
performed at the laboratory will be made available
only--
``(i) to criminal justice agencies, for law
enforcement identification purposes;
``(ii) for criminal defense purposes, to a
defendant, who shall have access to samples and
analyses performed in connection with the case
in which the defendant is charged; and
``(iii) to others, if personally
identifiable information is removed, for a
population statistics database, for
identification research and protocol
development purposes, or for quality control
purposes; and
``(C) the laboratory and each analyst performing
DNA analyses at the laboratory will undergo, at regular
intervals not exceeding 180 days, external proficiency
testing by a DNA proficiency testing program meeting
the standards issued under section 2(b) of the DNA
Identification Act of 1993.''.
(3) Authorization of appropriations.--For each of fiscal
years 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998 there are authorized to
be appropriated $10,000,000 for grants to the States for DNA
analysis.
(b) Quality Assurance and Proficiency Testing Standards.--
(1) Publication of quality assurance and proficiency
testing standards.--(A) Not later than 180 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation shall appoint an advisory board on DNA quality
assurance methods. The Director shall appoint members of the
board from among nominations proposed by the head of the
National Academy of Sciences and professional societies of
crime laboratory officials. The advisory board shall include as
members scientists from State and local forensic laboratories,
molecular geneticists and population geneticists not affiliated
with a forensic laboratory, and a representative from the
National Institute of Standards and Technology. The advisory
board shall develop, and if appropriate, periodically revise,
recommended standards for quality assurance, including
standards for testing the proficiency of forensic laboratories,
and forensic analysts, in conducting analyses of DNA.
(B) The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
after taking into consideration such recommended standards,
shall issue (and revise from time to time) standards for
quality assurance, including standards for testing the
proficiency of forensic laboratories, and forensic analysts, in
conducting analyses of DNA.
(C) The standards described in subparagraphs (A) and (B)
shall specify criteria for quality assurance and proficiency
tests to be applied to the various types of DNA analyses used
by forensic laboratories. The standards shall also include a
system for grading proficiency testing performance to determine
whether a laboratory is performing acceptably.
(D) Until such time as the advisory board has made
recommendations to the Director of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation and the Director has acted upon those
recommendations, the quality assurance guidelines adopted by
the technical working group on DNA analysis methods shall be
deemed the Director's standards for purposes of this section.
(2) Administration of the advisory board.--For
administrative purposes, the advisory board appointed under
paragraph (1) shall be considered to be an advisory board to
the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Section 14
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not
apply with respect to the advisory board appointed under
subsection (a). The board shall cease to exist on the date that
is 5 years after the date on which initial appointments are
made to the board, unless the existence of the board is
extended by the Director of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation.
(c) Index To Facilitate Law Enforcement Exchange of DNA
Identification Information.--
(1) In general.--The Director of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation may establish an index of--
(A) DNA identification records of persons convicted
of crimes;
(B) analyses of DNA samples recovered from crime
scenes; and
(C) analyses of DNA samples recovered from
unidentified human remains.
(2) Contents.--The index established under paragraph (1)
shall include only information on DNA identification records
and DNA analyses that are--
(A) based on analyses performed in accordance with
publicly available standards that satisfy or exceed the
guidelines for a quality assurance program for DNA
analysis, issued by the Director of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation under subsection (b);
(B) prepared by laboratories and DNA analysts that
undergo, at regular intervals not exceeding 180 days,
external proficiency testing by a DNA proficiency
testing program meeting the standards issued under
subsection (b); and
(C) maintained by Federal, State, and local
criminal justice agencies pursuant to rules that allow
disclosure of stored DNA samples and DNA analyses
only--
(i) to criminal justice agencies, for law
enforcement identification purposes;
(ii) for criminal defense purposes, to a
defendant, who shall have access to samples and
analyses performed in connection with the case
in which the defendant is charged; or
(iii) to others, if personally identifiable
information is removed, for a population
statistics database, for identification
research and protocol development purposes, or
for quality control purposes.
(3) Failure to meet requirements.--The exchange of records
authorized by this subsection is subject to cancellation if the
quality control and privacy requirements described in paragraph
(2) are not met.
(d) Federal Bureau of Investigation.--
(1) Proficiency testing requirements.--(A) Personnel at the
Federal Bureau of Investigation who perform DNA analyses shall
undergo, at regular intervals not exceeding 180 days, external
proficiency testing by a DNA proficiency testing program
meeting the standards issued under subsection (b). Not later
than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall arrange
for periodic blind external tests to determine the proficiency
of DNA analysis performed at the Federal Bureau of
Investigation laboratory. As used in this subparagraph, the
term ``blind external test'' means a test that is presented to
the laboratory through a second agency and appears to the
analysts to involve routine evidence.
(B) For each of the 5 years following the date of enactment
of this Act, the Director of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of
the House of Representatives and the Committee on the Judiciary
of the Senate an annual report on the results of each of the
tests described in subparagraph (A).
(2) Privacy protection standards.--(A) Except as provided
in subparagraph (B), the results of DNA tests performed for a
Federal law enforcement agency for law enforcement purposes may
be disclosed only--
(i) to criminal justice agencies for law
enforcement identification purposes; or
(ii) for criminal defense purposes, to a defendant,
who shall have access to samples and analyses performed
in connection with the case in which the defendant is
charged.
(B) If personally identifiable information is removed, test
results may be disclosed for a population statistics database,
for identification research and protocol development purposes,
or for quality control purposes.
(3) Criminal penalties.--(A) Whoever--
(i) by virtue of employment or official position,
has possession of, or access to, individually
identifiable DNA information indexed in a database
created or maintained by any Federal law enforcement
agency; and
(ii) willfully discloses such information in any
manner to any person or agency not entitled to receive
it,
shall be fined not more than $100,000.
(B) Whoever, without authorization, willfully obtains DNA
samples or individually identifiable DNA information indexed in
a database created or maintained by any Federal law enforcement
agency shall be fined not more than $100,000.
(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to the Federal Bureau of Investigation $2,000,000 for each
of fiscal years 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998 to carry out
subsections (b), (c), and (d).
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