[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 829 Engrossed in House (EH)]
103d CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 829
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To amend title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of
1968 to authorize funds received by States and units of local
government to be expended to improve the quality and availability of
DNA records; to authorize the establishment of a DNA identification
index; and for other purposes.
103d CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 829
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To amend title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of
1968 to authorize funds received by States and units of local
government to be expended to improve the quality and availability of
DNA records; to authorize the establishment of a DNA identification
index; and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``DNA Identification Act of 1993''.
SEC. 2. FUNDING TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY AND AVAILABILITY OF DNA ANALYSES
FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT IDENTIFICATION PURPOSES.
(a) Drug Control and System Improvement Grant Program.--Section
501(b) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of
1968 (42 U.S.C. 3751(b)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (20) by striking ``and'' at the end,
(2) in paragraph (21) by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and'', and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(22) developing or improving in a forensic laboratory a
capability to analyze deoxyribonucleic acid (hereinafter in
this title referred to as `DNA') for identification
purposes.''.
(b) State Applications.--Section 503(a) of title I of the Omnibus
Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3753(a)) is
amended by adding at the end thereof the following new paragraph:
``(12) If any part of a grant made under this part is to be
used to develop or improve a DNA analysis capability in a
forensic laboratory, a certification that--
``(A) DNA analyses performed at such laboratory
will satisfy or exceed then current standards for a
quality assurance program for DNA analysis, issued by
the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
under section 3 of the DNA Identification Act of 1993;
``(B) DNA samples obtained by, and DNA analyses
performed at, such laboratory will be accessible only--
``(i) to criminal justice agencies for law
enforcement identification purposes;
``(ii) for criminal defense purposes, to a
defendant, who shall have access to samples and
analyses performed in connection with the case
in which such defendant is charged; or
``(iii) if personally identifiable
information is removed, for a population
statistics database, for identification
research and protocol development purposes, or
for quality control purposes; and
``(C) such laboratory, and each analyst performing
DNA analyses at such laboratory, will undergo, at
regular intervals of not to exceed 180 days, external
proficiency testing by a DNA proficiency testing
program meeting the standards issued under section 3 of
the DNA Identification Act of 1993.''.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 1001(a) of the
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3793(a))
is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(11) There are authorized to be appropriated for each of
the fiscal years 1994 through 1998 $10,000,000 for grants to
the States for DNA analysis.''.
SEC. 3. QUALITY ASSURANCE AND PROFICIENCY TESTING STANDARDS.
(a) Publication of Quality Assurance and Proficiency Testing
Standards.--(1) Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall
appoint an advisory board on DNA quality assurance methods. The
Director shall appoint members of the board from among nominations
proposed by the head of the National Academy of Sciences and
professional societies of crime laboratory officials. The advisory
board shall include as members scientists from state and local forensic
laboratories, molecular geneticists and population geneticists not
affiliated with a forensic laboratory, and a representative from the
National Institute of Standards and Technology. The advisory board
shall develop, and if appropriate, periodically revise, recommended
standards for quality assurance, including standards for testing the
proficiency of forensic laboratories, and forensic analysts, in
conducting analyses of DNA.
(2) The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, after
taking into consideration such recommended standards, shall issue (and
revise from time to time) standards for quality assurance, including
standards for testing the proficiency of forensic laboratories, and
forensic analysts, in conducting analyses of DNA.
(3) The standards described in paragraphs (1) and (2) shall specify
criteria for quality assurance and proficiency tests to be applied to
the various types of DNA analyses used by forensic laboratories. The
standards shall also include a system for grading proficiency testing
performance to determine whether a laboratory is performing acceptably.
(4) Until such time as the advisory board has made recommendations
to the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Director
has acted upon those recommendations, the quality assurance guidelines
adopted by the technical working group on DNA analysis methods shall be
deemed the Director's standards for purposes of this section.
(b) Administration of the Advisory Board.--For administrative
purposes, the advisory board appointed under subsection (a) shall be
considered an advisory board to the Director of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation. Section 14 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5
U.S.C. App.) shall not apply with respect to the advisory board
appointed under subsection (a). The board shall cease to exist on the
date 5 years after the initial appointments are made to the board,
unless the existence of the board is extended by the Director of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation.
SEC. 4. INDEX TO FACILITATE LAW ENFORCEMENT EXCHANGE OF DNA
IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION
(a) In General.--The Director of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation may establish an index of--
(1) DNA identification records of persons convicted of
crimes;
(2) analyses of DNA samples recovered from crime scenes;
and
(3) analyses of DNA samples recovered from unidentified
human remains.
(b) Content of Index.--Such index may include only information on
DNA identification records and DNA analyses that are--
(1) based on analyses performed in accordance with publicly
available standards that satisfy or exceed the guidelines for a
quality assurance program for DNA analysis, issued by the
Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation under section 3
of the DNA Identification Act of 1993;
(2) prepared by laboratories, and DNA analysts, that
undergo, at regular intervals of not to exceed 180 days,
external proficiency testing by a DNA proficiency testing
program meeting the standards issued under section 3 of the DNA
Identification Act of 1993; and
(3) maintained by Federal, State, and local criminal
justice agencies pursuant to rules that allow disclosure of
stored DNA samples and DNA analyses only--
(A) to criminal justice agencies for law
enforcement identification purposes;
(B) for criminal defense purposes, to a defendant,
who shall have access to samples and analyses performed
in connection with the case in which such defendant is
charged; or
(C) if personally identifiable information is
removed, for a population statistics database, for
identification research and protocol development
purposes, or for quality control purposes.
(c) Exchange Subject to Cancellation.--The exchange of records
authorized by this section is subject to cancellation if the quality
control and privacy requirements described in subsection (b) of this
section are not met.
SEC. 5. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
(a) Proficiency Testing Requirements.--
(1) Generally.--Personnel at the Federal Bureau of
Investigation who perform DNA analyses shall undergo, at
regular intervals of not to exceed 180 days, external
proficiency testing by a DNA proficiency testing program
meeting the standards issued under section 3(a). Within one
year of the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation shall arrange for periodic
blind external tests to determine the proficiency of DNA
analysis performed at the Federal Bureau of Investigation
laboratory. As used in this paragraph, the term ``blind
external test'' means a test that is presented to the
laboratory through a second agency and appears to the analysts
to involve routine evidence.
(2) Report.--For five years after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
shall submit to the Committees on the Judiciary of the House
and Senate an annual report on the results of each of the tests
referred to in paragraph (1).
(b) Privacy Protection Standards.--
(1) Generally.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the
results of DNA tests performed for a Federal law enforcement
agency for law enforcement purposes may be disclosed only--
(A) to criminal justice agencies for law
enforcement identification purposes; or
(B) for criminal defense purposes, to a defendant,
who shall have access to samples and analyses performed
in connection with the case in which such defendant is
charged.
(2) Exception.--If personally identifiable information is
removed, test results may be disclosed for a population
statistics database, for identification research and protocol
development purposes, or for quality control purposes.
(c) Criminal Penalty.--(1) Whoever--
(A) by virtue of employment or official position, has
possession of, or access to, individually identifiable DNA
information indexed in a database created or maintained by any
Federal law enforcement agency; and
(B) willfully discloses such information in any manner to
any person or agency not entitled to receive it;
shall be fined not more than $100,000.
(2) Whoever, without authorization, willfully obtains DNA samples
or individually identifiable DNA information indexed in a database
created or maintained by any Federal law enforcement agency shall be
fined not more than $100,000.
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation $4,500,000 for each of fiscal years 1994 through 1998 to
carry out sections 3, 4, and 5 of this Act.
Passed the House of Representatives March 29, 1993.
Attest:
Clerk.