S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4496
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 16, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M. of A. GUNTHER, AUBRY, COOK, COLTON, McDONOUGH -- read
   once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations
 
 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
 amended by chapter 153 of the laws  of  2016,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   1.  Every  county  medical examiner and coroner shall promptly furnish
 the division and the National Missing and  Unidentified  Persons  System
 created  by  the  Office  of  Justice  Program's  National  Institute of
 Justice, with copies of fingerprints on standardized eight inch by eight
 inch fingerprint cards or the equivalent digital  image,  SHALL  FURNISH
 THE  NEW YORK STATE POLICE FORENSIC LABORATORY PROMPTLY WITH DNA SAMPLES
 OF DECEASED PERSONS OR UNIDENTIFIED BODY PARTS, FOR THE PURPOSE OF CLAS-
 SIFICATION, 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  identifying  data, including date and place of
 death, of all deceased persons whose  deaths  are  in  a  classification
 requiring  inquiry by the medical examiner or coroner where the deceased
 is not identified or the medical examiner or coroner  is  not  satisfied
 with  the  decedent's  identification.  The division shall promptly make
 available personal descriptions and other  identifying  data,  including
 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.  THE DIVISION SHALL FORWARD SUCH RECORDS REGARDING
 SUCH DECEASED PERSONS OR UNIDENTIFIED BODY PARTS TO THE  NATIONAL  CRIME
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD09058-01-3
 A. 4496                             2
              

 
 INFORMATION  CENTER  UPON  SUCH  CENTER ADOPTING A POLICY TO ACCEPT SUCH
 RECORDS.
   §  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.
   §  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.
   §  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.