NY State Senate Bill 2015-S2170

Senate Bill S2170

2015-2016 Legislative Session

Requires county medical examiners or coroners to give the state police forensic laboratory DNA samples of unidentified dead or alive and missing persons upon request

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Finance Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 06, 2016	referred to finance
Jan 21, 2015	referred to finance

2015-S2170 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A1853
Current Committee:: Senate Finance
Law Section:: Executive Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§838 & 995-d, Exec L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2009-2010: A4533
2011-2012: A5166, A7292
2013-2014: S3830, A2319
2017-2018: S1725, A413
2019-2020: A3616
2021-2022: A5270
2023-2024: A4496

2015-S2170 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires county medical examiners or coroners to give the state police forensic laboratory DNA samples of unidentified dead or alive and missing persons upon request for the purpose of classification and for the state police to forward the samples to the state division of criminal justice services for the purpose of comparison to attempt to determine identity and for the purpose of filing; also provides for the forwarding of records to the National Crime Information Center upon such center adopting a policy to accept such records.

2015-S2170 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:S2170

TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the executive law, in relation to the classification
procedure and use of DNA samples to identify unidentified dead and
missing persons

PURPOSE:

Requires county medical examiners or coroners to give the state police
forensic laboratory DNA samples of unidentified dead and missing
persons upon request.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Amends subdivision 1 of section 838 of the executive law to
provide for DNA samples to be taken and forwarded to the New York
State Police for analysis. The results will then be forwarded to the
Division of Criminal Justice Services to be maintained in their
missing persons files. The Division shall forward records of
unidentified deceased persons or unidentified body parts to the
National Crime Information Center (NCIC).

Section 1-a. Amends subdivision 1 of section 838 of the executive law
to ensure that the above mentioned changes are retained in permanent

law.

Section 2. Amends subdivision 4 of section 838 of the Executive Law to
provide for the comparison of DNA records received by the Division for
the purpose of identifying the deceased.

Section 3. Adds a new subdivision 3 to section 995-d of the Executive
Law to ensure that all records, findings, reports and results of DNA
testing performed pursuant to this section shall be treated in a
manner consistent with subdivisions five, six, seven and eight of
section nine hundred ninety-five-c of this chapter.

Section 4. Effective date.

JUSTIFICATION:

The New York State Police have one of the most advanced forensic
laboratories in the country, making it possible to identify deceased
persons through DNA technology.

Currently, when a person is reported missing, police often use
fingerprints or dental records in attempting to match the missing
individual to any unidentified human remains. This proactive approach
to trying to assist families and bring home missing loved ones would
be greatly enhanced by the use of DNA technology, since DNA
"fingerprinting" is a much more advanced and positive means of
identification than traditional methods, and can also be used
successfully when fingerprints or dental records are unavailable or
unachievable. Police involved in an investigation could obtain DNA
samples from a hairbrush, clothing, bloodstains, etc. and attempt to


match that DNA with DNA taken from unidentified human remains found
throughout the country.

Hundreds of persons are buried in unidentified "John & Jane Doe"
graves each year in New York State alone, many of whom are children.
The psychological trauma that parents and relatives suffer is
justification in itself for government to do whatever they can to
bring even minimal closure to these missing person investigations, by
identifying the deceased and allowing the families to bring their
loved ones home to eternal resting places. Statutory procedure is
necessary to ensure uniform compliance, just as statutory procedure
exists for fingerprinting and for dental records.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2013-14: S3830/A2319 - Finance/Governmental Operations

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Minimal additional staffing at the New York State Forensic Laboratory
and Division of Criminal Justice Services.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This act shall take effect on the first of the calendar month next
succeeding the sixtieth day after it shall have become a law.

2015-S2170 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  2170

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            January 21, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by Sen. CARLUCCI -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance

AN ACT to amend the executive law, in  relation  to  the  classification
  procedure  and  use  of  DNA samples to identify unidentified dead and
  missing persons

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 838 of the executive law, as added
by chapter 670 of the laws of 1982, is amended to read as follows:
  1.  Every  county medical examiner and coroner shall furnish the divi-
sion promptly with copies of fingerprints on standardized eight inch  by
eight  inch  fingerprint  cards, SHALL FURNISH THE NEW YORK STATE POLICE
FORENSIC LABORATORY PROMPTLY WITH DNA SAMPLES  OF  DECEASED  PERSONS  OR
UNIDENTIFIED  BODY  PARTS,  FOR  THE  PURPOSE  OF  CLASSIFICATION, WHICH
SAMPLES SHALL THEN BE FORWARDED BY THE STATE POLICE FORENSIC  LABORATORY
TO  THE  DIVISION  FOR  THE  PURPOSE OF COMPARISON AND FILING, AND SHALL
FURNISH THE DIVISION PROMPTLY WITH personal descriptions and other iden-
tifying data, including date and place of death, of all deceased persons
whose deaths are in a classification requiring inquiry  by  the  coroner
where  the deceased is not identified or the medical examiner or coroner
is not satisfied with the decedent's identification.  THE DIVISION SHALL
FORWARD SUCH RECORDS REGARDING SUCH  DECEASED  PERSONS  OR  UNIDENTIFIED
BODY  PARTS  TO  THE  NATIONAL CRIME INFORMATION CENTER UPON SUCH CENTER
ADOPTING A POLICY TO ACCEPT SUCH RECORDS.
  S 1-a. Subdivision 1 of section 838 of the executive law,  as  amended
by chapter 331 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:
  1.  Every  county medical examiner and coroner shall furnish the divi-
sion promptly with copies of fingerprints on standardized eight inch  by
eight  inch  fingerprint  cards, SHALL FURNISH THE NEW YORK STATE POLICE
FORENSIC LABORATORY PROMPTLY WITH DNA SAMPLES  OF  DECEASED  PERSONS  OR
UNIDENTIFIED  BODY  PARTS,  FOR  THE  PURPOSE  OF  CLASSIFICATION, WHICH

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD03166-02-5

S. 2170                             2

SAMPLES SHALL THEN BE FORWARDED BY THE STATE POLICE FORENSIC  LABORATORY
TO  THE  DIVISION  FOR  THE  PURPOSE OF COMPARISON AND FILING, AND SHALL
FURNISH THE DIVISION PROMPTLY WITH personal descriptions and other iden-
tifying data, including date and place of death, of all deceased persons
whose  deaths  are  in a classification requiring inquiry by the coroner
where the deceased is not identified or the medical examiner or  coroner
is not satisfied with the decedent's identification.  THE DIVISION SHALL
FORWARD  SUCH  RECORDS  REGARDING  SUCH DECEASED PERSONS OR UNIDENTIFIED
BODY PARTS TO THE NATIONAL CRIME INFORMATION  CENTER  UPON  SUCH  CENTER
ADOPTING  A  POLICY  TO ACCEPT SUCH RECORDS. The division shall promptly
make available personal descriptions and other identifying data, includ-
ing date and place of  death,  of  such  deceased  persons  to  all  law
enforcement  agencies in the state, and upon request, to law enforcement
agencies outside of the state.
  S 2. Subdivision 4 of section 838 of the executive law,  as  added  by
chapter 670 of the laws of 1982, is amended to read as follows:
  4.  The  division  shall  compare  the  fingerprints  AND  DNA SAMPLES
received from the county medical examiners or coroners  to  fingerprints
AND DNA BAND PATTERNS on file with the division for purposes of attempt-
ing  to  determine  the identity of the deceased. Other descriptive data
supplied with the fingerprints shall also be compared to  records  main-
tained  by  the  division concerning missing persons. The division shall
submit the results of the comparisons to the appropriate medical examin-
er or coroner and if a tentative or positive identification is made,  to
the  law enforcement authority which submitted the report of the missing
person.
  S 3. Section 995-d of the executive law is amended  by  adding  a  new
subdivision 3 to read as follows:
  3. ALL RECORDS, FINDINGS, REPORTS AND RESULTS OF DNA TESTING PERFORMED
PURSUANT   TO   SUBDIVISION   ONE  OR  FOUR  OF  SECTION  EIGHT  HUNDRED
THIRTY-EIGHT OF THIS CHAPTER SHALL BE SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF  THIS
SECTION,  AND  SHALL BE TREATED IN A MANNER CONSISTENT WITH SUBDIVISIONS
FIVE, SIX, SEVEN AND EIGHT OF SECTION NINE HUNDRED NINETY-FIVE-C OF THIS
ARTICLE.
  S 4. This act shall take effect on the first  of  the  calendar  month
next  succeeding  the  sixtieth  day  after  it shall have become a law;
provided, however, that the amendments to subdivision 1 of  section  838
of the executive law made by section one-a of this act shall take effect
on  the  same date and in the same manner as section 2 of chapter 331 of
the laws of 2014, takes effect.

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