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« Legislative News DNA Sample Requirements Expanded
By Nanette Forbes,
TAC Legislative Staff
Since the passage of Senate Bill 727, DNA sampling is now mandatory for the placement of convicted felons on community supervision — including deferred adjudication and juveniles placed on probation for certain felony adjudications.
The purpose of the new law, which was authored by Sen. Dan Patrick and went into effect Sept. 1, is to create DNA records of more felony defendants. The new law applies only to defendants who are granted community supervision or deferred adjudication on or after the effective date of the legislation. The only exception for collection is if the DNA sample has been submitted under other state law.
A new $34 court cost fee is to be collected unless the defendant is indigent and unable to pay. In juvenile cases where a child has been placed on probation for an applicable felony offense, the court is to assess a $34 fee, or a $50 fee, if the child is committed to a Texas Youth Commission (TYC) facility, unless the court determines the defendant is indigent. The fees do not become effective until Jan. 1, 2010.
Many questions have arisen as to the implementation of the bill. The following questions are a sampling of the most commonly asked as collected from the County and District Clerks Association Listserve and a report on DNA requirements published by the Department of Public Safety (DPS).
Responses to the questions were provided by the Comptroller of Public Accounts and the Department of Public Safety.
Does the officer collecting the court cost fees send them directly to the comptroller, as stipulated in the legislation?
No, the court cost fees in adult and juvenile probation cases related to DNA testing are to be deposited with the county treasurer and submitted to the Office of the Comptroller on a quarterly basis. The county may retain 10 percent as a collection fee.
Who will take the DNA sample?
In juvenile cases, the Juvenile Probation Department will take the samples. If the juvenile is committed to TYC, the commission is responsible for collecting the sample.
In convicted adult felony probation cases, there are no stipulations as to who is to do the testing. The departments that normally administer the DNA swab tests are police departments, probation departments, and sheriff’s offices.
The department and/or person appointed to collect the saliva sample are required to watch an 8-minute instructional video prepared and distributed by the DPS.
The administering of the DNA saliva sample test will not require more than 3-5 minutes per defendant.
If a defendant convicted of a felony is placed on community supervision or deferred adjudication in multiple cases, is the $34 fee charged in all cases?
No, the fee should be charged only once.
How much do the kits cost?
The kits are furnished by DPS at no charge.
If there are no DNA swab test kits available, what should we do?
Presently, DPS is backlogged on orders for approximately 7,000 kits. Various departments are making notes in defendant’s files to take DNA samples when the kits become available. DPS is anticipating filling the orders for the backlogged kits within the next six weeks.
If you have additional questions concerning the implementation of the new legislation, please contact Rebecca Vieh, Department of Public Safety, (512) 424-2387 or the Commission’s Legal Help Desk at (512) 424-6721.
For more information on this article, contact Nanette Forbes, TAC Legislative Liaison, (800) 456-5970.
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