The state Senate has emphatically passed legislation that would expand New York's criminal DNA database.
Senators voted 50-10 on Tuesday to pass the DNA Databank Expansion Bill, which would, if signed into law, require people convicted of all crimes - including misdemeanors - to submit DNA samples to the state's DNA databank. Currently, only someone convicted of a felony, or one of 36 specific misdemeanor charges, is required to submit a DNA sample.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo urged the Assembly to act quickly to pass the bill, which he called "an important step in protecting New Yorkers and modernizing the state's criminal justice system."
Cuomo's 2012-13 executive budget included a proposal similar to the Senate bill.
Full article:
Gov. praises Senate passage of DNA databank expansion (Adirondack Daily Enterprise, February 1 2012)
Governor Andrew Cuomo made the following statement, released after the vote: "Today the New York State Senate passed the DNA Databank Expansion Bill, an important step in protecting New Yorkers and modernizing the state’s criminal justice system. This critical crime fighting resource embraces technology to help protect the innocent and convict the guilty. I want to thank Senators Golden and Saland for sponsoring this legislation. I call on the Assembly to do the same so I can sign this bill into law immediately."
Related articles:
New York State Set to Add All Convict DNA to Its Database, by John Eligon and Thomas Kaplan (New York Times, March 13, 2012)
Cuomo blesses Senate DNA bill (Capitol Confidential, January 31 2012)
Albany Bill to Expand DNA Database Fuels a Political Fight (New York Times, January 31 2012)
State Senate passes bill to greatly expand New York's DNA database; spotlight shifts to the Assembly (New York Daily News, January 31 2012)
Building a New NY... with you: 2012 State of the State Address, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo (January 4 2012)
