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Relating to the creation and storage of DNA records for a person arrested for a felony offense.
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB1399, Committee Report 2nd House, Substituted: a negative impact of ($2,834,358) through the biennium ending August 31, 2021. The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill.
The Department of Public Safety is required to implement a provision of this Act only if the
legislature appropriates money specifically for that purpose. If the legislature does not appropriate
money specifically for that purpose, the Department of Public Safety may, but is not required to,
implement a provision of this Act using other appropriations available for that purpose.
HB 1399 would expand the the circumstances under which a defendant arrested for certain felony offenses must provide DNA to include a defendant arrested for the following offenses: murder, capital murder, kidnapping, aggravated kidnapping, smuggling of persons, continuous sexual abuse of a young child or children, indecency with a child, assault, sexual assault, aggravated assault, aggravated sexual assault, prohibited sexual conduct, robbery, aggravated robbery, burglary, theft, promotion of prostitution, aggravated promotion of prostitution, compelling prostitution, sexual performance by a child, or possession or promotion of child pornography. This bill would also require the public safety director to apply for any available federal grant funds applicable to the creation and storage of DNA records of persons arrested for certain offenses.
Texas Action opposes this legislation because it requires DNA samples from people who were merely arrested for these offenses, not indicted or finally convicted. We would withdraw our opposition with the adoption of an amendment to make the DNA sample requirement contingent on either indictment or final conviction for the enumerated offenses.
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