Requires county medical examiners or coroners to give the state police forensic laboratory DNA samples of deceased persons or unidentified body parts 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; provides for the forwarding of records to the National Crime Information Center upon such center adopting a policy to accept such records.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A4496
SPONSOR: Gunther 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 miss-
ing persons
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
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 SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
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).
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.
Adds a new subdivision 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.
JUSTIFICATION:
The New York State Police have one of the most advanced forensic labora-
tories 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 "fing-
erprinting" is a much more advanced and positive means of identification
than traditional methods, and can also be used successfully when finger-
prints 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 fingerprint-
ing and for dental records.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-2020: A5270 referred to Governmental Operations
2019-2020: A3616 referred to Governmental Operations
2017-18: A413 referred to Governmental Operations/S1725 referred to
Finance
2015-16: A1853 referred to Governmental Operations/S2170 referred to
Finance
2013-14: A2319 referred to Governmental Operations/53830 referred to
Finance
2011-12: A7292 referred to Governmental Operations
2009-10.: A4533 referred to Governmental Operations
2007-08: A4287 referred to Governmental Operations
2005-06: A5235 referred to Governmental Operations/S2888 referred to
Finance
2003-04: A5844 referred to Rules/S871 referred to Finance
2001-02: A1778B passed Assembly/$2622B committed to Rules
2000: A10145 held in Governmental Operations/S7165 committed to Rules
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 day of the calendar month next
succeeding the sixtieth day after it shall have become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4496
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
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:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 838 of the executive law, as
2 amended by chapter 153 of the laws of 2016, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 1. Every county medical examiner and coroner shall promptly furnish
5 the division and the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System
6 created by the Office of Justice Program's National Institute of
7 Justice, with copies of fingerprints on standardized eight inch by eight
8 inch fingerprint cards or the equivalent digital image, shall furnish
9 the New York state police forensic laboratory promptly with DNA samples
10 of deceased persons or unidentified body parts, for the purpose of clas-
11 sification, which samples shall then be forwarded by the state police
12 forensic laboratory to the division for the purpose of comparison and
13 filing, and shall furnish the division promptly with personal
14 descriptions and other identifying data, including date and place of
15 death, of all deceased persons whose deaths are in a classification
16 requiring inquiry by the medical examiner or coroner where the deceased
17 is not identified or the medical examiner or coroner is not satisfied
18 with the decedent's identification. The division shall promptly make
19 available personal descriptions and other identifying data, including
20 date and place of death, of such deceased persons to all law enforcement
21 agencies in the state, and upon request, to law enforcement agencies
22 outside of the state. The division shall forward such records regarding
23 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
1 Information Center upon such center adopting a policy to accept such
2 records.
3 § 2. Subdivision 4 of section 838 of the executive law, as added by
4 chapter 670 of the laws of 1982, is amended to read as follows:
5 4. The division shall compare the fingerprints and DNA samples
6 received from the county medical examiners or coroners to fingerprints
7 and DNA band patterns on file with the division for purposes of attempt-
8 ing to determine the identity of the deceased. Other descriptive data
9 supplied with the fingerprints shall also be compared to records main-
10 tained by the division concerning missing persons. The division shall
11 submit the results of the comparisons to the appropriate medical examin-
12 er or coroner and if a tentative or positive identification is made, to
13 the law enforcement authority which submitted the report of the missing
14 person.
15 § 3. Section 995-d of the executive law is amended by adding a new
16 subdivision 3 to read as follows:
17 3. All records, findings, reports and results of DNA testing performed
18 pursuant to subdivision one or four of section eight hundred thirty-
19 eight of this chapter shall be subject to the provisions of this
20 section, and shall be treated in a manner consistent with subdivisions
21 five, six, seven and eight of section nine hundred ninety-five-c of this
22 article.
23 § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of the calendar month
24 next succeeding the sixtieth day after it shall have become a law.
