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Committee advances bill to allow DNA entry into CODIS when suspects die before charge
Summary
The committee approved changes to permit judges to order entry of DNA into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) in limited circumstances and to require entry for certain individuals who died in custody or were incarcerated before 1997.
The House Judiciary Committee voted to advance House Bill 340, a measure aimed at closing gaps that prevent law enforcement from entering otherwise-collected DNA profiles into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) in certain circumstances.
Representative Baker, the bill's sponsor, told the committee the legislation “creates a mechanism in the unusual circumstances where someone dies after DNA has been collected, but before it can be entered in the CODIS system,” and would also “mandate automatic DNA entry for individuals who die in prison or were released before July 1997, provided the DNA was collected in accordance with law.”
Troy Wees, chief of the New Mexico State Police, testified in support and described the measure as a tool for solving cold cases and reducing investigative workload. Representative Baker cited a high-profile case in which law enforcement collected a suspect’s DNA after an arrest but could not enter it into CODIS because the suspect died before a preliminary hearing; sponsors argued that the bill would close that procedural gap and could help bring closure in other unsolved cases.
Committee members asked several procedural and policy questions. Senator Duhigg sought clarification about the statutory triggers that currently permit CODIS entry and whether the bill would lower the standard for retaining samples collected before 1997; sponsors responded that the measure is meant to address two scenarios: (1) an arrest followed by an intervening death before a preliminary hearing, and (2) individuals collected while in custody before 1997 who currently cannot be entered until release. Chief Wees said the proposal would “bring closure for families at a sooner time rather than making them wait until there's a release or the person dies in custody.”
Senator Maestas asked whether the bill creates a standalone subsection rather than amending the existing statutory section (29-3-10); sponsors said the drafters prepared it as a standalone subsection but that the compilation commission could place it into the existing code in final codification.
The committee chair and other members framed the bill as providing investigators with an additional tool to solve violent crime and to reduce wasted investigative effort. After discussion, the committee moved and adopted a due-pass motion on House Bill 340 as amended; the chair declared the motion carried after there was no objection.
The transcript records the committee's action as a voice vote with no roll-call tally recorded. Committee members and law-enforcement witnesses urged that the measure be considered by the full chamber to help resolve cold cases and deliver answers to victims’ families.
