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Senate approves DNA database fee increase after floor clarification
Summary
Senate passed House Bill 212 to expand the DNA database and raise the collection fee. Debate focused on whether the new fees would be placed in restricted funds and the scale of the fee increase; senators clarified the funds are restricted and the bill passed unanimously on the floor.
House Bill 212, which amends the DNA database statute and increases the DNA-collection fee, passed the Senate on Feb. 9 after floor discussion about funding and fee levels.
Senator Knudson summarized the bill as aiming to expand the value of the DNA database and increase the collection fee from $75 to $100. During debate a point of order and a procedural clarification arose: a senator noted the fee had previously been increased from $75 to $85 in earlier language and then amended to $100. Senators pressed staff on whether the fees would be collected as restricted funds to cover program costs.
Floor comment clarified the fee revenues were designated as restricted funds to pay for program costs; one senator described a combination of an increase in fee amount and expansion of the classes of offenses subject to the fee as a meaningful revenue change. Following the floor exchange and no further debate, Knudson moved final passage and the Senate recorded the bill as passed (22 yes votes, 0 nay votes, 7 absent) and returned it to the House for the Speaker’s signature.
Why it matters: The bill increases the per-collection fee and broadens the classes of offenses subject to the fee, generating additional restricted revenue for DNA database operations and related law-enforcement activities.
Next steps: The Senate forwarded the passed bill for the Speaker’s signature and enrolled it following the usual open-session signing by the president.
