Face the State Staff Report
A bill to collect DNA from individuals arrested for felonies has Republicans split over whether it reflects a commonsense approach to law enforcement or a dangerous expansion of government power.
A DNA blot testPaul Cowan/Dreamstime
Senate Bill 241, if passed, would enter the collected DNA samples into a state database maintained by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA as it is commonly known, is a human blueprint of specific genetic information unique to each individual. It can be removed with a simple swabbing of skin and is often found at crime scenes. In dozens of high profile cases across the nation, DNA technology has freed innocent people from prison, but the bill's proponents are also hopeful police may solve more crimes using a broader database of genetic samples.
"This bill will save lives and prevent violent crimes like rape and sexual assault of children," said Sen. Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction. "That much is indisputable."
As the bill is written, DNA would be collected by the police upon arrest for a suspected felony. Under current law, DNA is collected after a person is convicted. If the charges are later dismissed or the accused is found to be innocent, his or her DNA would be removed from the database, but only if requested.
"The bill sets out a very clear process for accused persons to expunge their record if they are found not guilty," Penry told Face the State. But other Republicans allege that once the cat is out of the bag, meaning that when government has acquired this personal information, it can't ever be effectively returned to individuals.
Sen. Bill Cadman, a Colorado Springs Republican, is opposed to the bill, and is especially wary of the bureaucracy involved to expunge a person's DNA from the system.
"Unfortunately, part of the legislation is that it puts the onus on the innocent to request that the government destroy their most personal information," Cadman told Face the State. "It will probably be some bureaucracy where you request it, provide more personal information to CBI, and then frankly you will have virtually no proof that it is done. Plus, there is no provision requiring the federal government to remove it."
The state's Libertarian Party is also opposed to the bill. Dave Williams, the party's legislative director, says the bill leaves too much room for an abuse of government power.
"Anybody can be accused of anything by anybody at any time," Williams told Face the State. "Accusation is not proof. Think of how many times there have been false accusations. The government can't protect financial data on laptops, how are we supposed to expect them to protect our identities?"
Funding for the database would come from revenue generated from traffic offenses. An individual DNA kit costs just over $5.
Sen. Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch, originally opposed the bill because of the funding source, saying there is no nexus between traffic violations and felonies. He ultimately voted for the bill on third reading, however, because of amendments offered to help the wrongly accused expunge their DNA from the system.
"What I opposed to was the financing mechanism by which they are tacking on a significant fee to felonies and traffic violations," said Harvey. "I don't believe there is a nexus to funding a DNA database using traffic violations. But during debate we put on amendments that are good siderails that require the CBI to notify each individual who was declared innocent of their rights and the process by which they can have their name expunged from the database."
The amendment Harvey is referring to also added a $25,000 fine against the government for a failure to remove the information of someone who requested it within 90 days.
"I thought that was a pretty good compromise on the bill to be able to provide an effective tool to get very violent people off the streets while at the same time protecting the civil liberties of people who had their DNA collected," Harvey told Face the State.
The bill, which is known as "Katie's Law" after the murder of Katie Sepich in 2003, also creates a $75,000 appropriation to implement the database, but the fiscal note estimates a cost of over $2 million for fiscal year 2009-2010.
SB 241 passed the Senate floor on third reading Monday and is now headed to the House.