Committee advances bill to add rural crime‑lab staff at DPS; appropriation amount not yet specified

Summary

SB 11‑17 would appropriate an unspecified FY2027 amount to the Department of Public Safety to hire two crime‑lab technicians to process DNA samples from counties with fewer than 1,000,000 residents. Sponsor Sen. Karen Warner said the appropriation will be specified before the appropriations hearing and cited local needs in rural counties.

The Arizona Senate Public Safety Committee voted to advance SB 11‑17, a bill that would provide funding to the Department of Public Safety for crime‑laboratory services to handle evidence from counties with populations under 1,000,000.

Sponsor materials described the appropriation as unspecified in committee and said the exact amount would be determined before the bill reaches the Appropriations Committee. Senator Karen Warner (LD‑4) told the committee the measure is a response to meetings with a county sheriff and county attorney; she said rural counties are currently limited in how many DNA samples they can send at once and that the bill would fund two full‑time laboratory staff positions dedicated to processing DNA from rural counties (non‑Maricopa).

Members asked clarifying questions about the population threshold and which counties are affected; sponsor Warner said the threshold excludes Maricopa and Pima counties. One member asked for at least a ballpark appropriation prior to the Appropriations Committee; senator Warner said the figure will be specified by then. The committee gave SB 11‑17 a do‑pass recommendation by recorded vote (7‑0).