Whose DNA?
The new DNA samples would come from everyone
☆ "required by law to submit fingerprints for purposes of identification as part of an application for licensure, certification or a permit or renewal of a license, certificate or permit"I have not looked up who must submit fingerprints to the state, but I would expect this group to include teachers, child care center employees, law enforcement personnel, anyone jailed for any suspected offense, and the Arizona legislators themselves! Putting the legislator's DNA samples into the system would be a good idea, but it is not clear that the state can make its rank-and-file employees submit to DNA profiling. The federal Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2009 (GINA) generally prohibits employers from demanding "genetic information," and one district court interpreted this to include identification profiles.
☆ "whose employment or position requires fingerprinting for purposes of identification."
☆ "who is employed by or volunteering with a law enforcement agency."
☆ "who, for any other reason, is required by law to submit fingerprints for purposes of identification."
☆ who is dead ("A deceased person, whose DNA shall be collected by the medical examiner" and "A deceased person's DNA ID must be submitted to the department within twenty four hours after collection.")
☆ "ordered by a court ... to submit DNA ID for purposes of proving or disproving familial relationships" or
☆ "who voluntarily requests [inclusion] in the database."
What Does It Cost?
The bill allows the collecting agency to "collect a fee of up to $250 from a person who submits biological samples." It does not say how the medical examiner will collect the money from the dead. Last year, the National Institute of Justice's FTCoE (Forensic Technology Center of Excellence) reported that "[t]here are hefty costs and agencies will say ‘That sounds great but I don’t know if we can afford it,’ ” ... it costs approximately $100 to $150 to process each sample in addition to the purchase price of the instrument itself."
How to Profile to DNA
The bill requires "collecting agencies to "promptly process the sample ... within four hours using rapid DNA identification ... ."
What DNA Features?
Collecting agencies "may not test the sample for or submit any [DNA] information other than DNA ID. [S]equence or single nucleotide polymorphism are explicitly excluded from submission." The bill explains that "'DNA ID' means a human identification measurement that is based on the size of a set of short tandem repeats in the genome of an individual that is obtained from a biological sample by short tandem repeat amplification and electrophoretic sizing and that is generated from a noncoding portion of deoxyribonucleic acid that does not contain any information, other than gender, about a person's physical characteristics or medical conditions."
"The database may not be used for the storage of a deoxyribonucleic acid sequence or a single nucleotide polymorphism or to create a genetic profile." But a SNP is not what you might think. It "means a variation in deoxyribonucleic acid sequence in which a single nucleotide at a specific location in the genome varies from person to person and can be used to assess a given person's physical characteristics or medical conditions." Likewise, "[g]genetic profile' means a description of a person's genetic code that is developed through [DNA] sequencing or single nucleotide polymorphism technologies and that contains information about that person's physical characteristics or medical conditions."
What Happens to Samples?
In an unusual twist, the state must destroy "the biological sample ... immediately after testing is complete." (It can demand a second sample if the first profile is incomplete. After that, I guess it is out of luck.)
What Uses?
Permitted uses are open-ended:
"for purposes of criminal law enforcement, identification for employment, licensing, death registration, missing persons identification, identification of persons using aliases or other multiple identities or other uses specifically authorized by the department [of public safety]."
What will they think of next? If the state wants a population-wide database, it ought to authorize it through clear legislation.
For more on Ariz. SB 1475, see
- Who Favors the Arizona Rapid DNA Database Expansion Bill?, Forensic Sci., Stat. & L., Feb. 16, 2019
- The Metamorphosis of the Arizona Rapid DNA Bill, Forensic Sci., Stat. & L., Feb. 22, 2019
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