As Reported by the House Judiciary Committee

130th General Assembly
Regular Session
2013-2014
Sub. S. B. No. 316


Senator Cafaro 

Cosponsors: Senators Turner, Brown, Schiavoni, LaRose, Obhof, Bacon, Balderson, Beagle, Burke, Coley, Eklund, Faber, Gardner, Gentile, Hite, Hughes, Jones, Kearney, Lehner, Manning, Oelslager, Patton, Peterson, Sawyer, Schaffer, Seitz, Tavares, Uecker, Widener 

Representatives Stinziano, Letson 



A BILL
To amend sections 109.573 and 2933.82 of the Revised 1
Code to require a law enforcement agency to review 2
its records pertaining to specified homicide and 3
sex offenses and to forward the contents of a 4
related sexual assault examination kit in its 5
possession to the Bureau of Criminal 6
Identification and Investigation or another crime 7
laboratory for DNA analysis based on the outcome 8
of the review, to require a law enforcement agency 9
that initiates an investigation and determines 10
that one or more persons may have committed or 11
participated in a specified homicide or sex 12
offense or another offense committed during the 13
course of a specified homicide or sex offense to 14
forward the contents of a sexual assault 15
examination kit it possesses to the Bureau or 16
another crime laboratory within thirty days for 17
DNA analysis, and to require consideration of time 18
remaining under a statute of limitations as a 19
factor in prioritizing the order in which the DNA 20
specimens forwarded by law enforcement agencies 21
undergo DNA analysis.22


BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

       Section 1. That sections 109.573 and 2933.82 of the Revised 23
Code be amended to read as follows:24

       Sec. 109.573.  (A) As used in this section:25

       (1) "DNA" means human deoxyribonucleic acid.26

       (2) "DNA analysis" means a laboratory analysis of a DNA 27
specimen to identify DNA characteristics and to create a DNA 28
record.29

       (3) "DNA database" means a collection of DNA records from 30
forensic casework or from crime scenes, specimens from anonymous 31
and unidentified sources, and records collected pursuant to 32
sections 2152.74 and 2901.07 of the Revised Code and a population 33
statistics database for determining the frequency of occurrence of 34
characteristics in DNA records.35

       (4) "DNA record" means the objective result of a DNA analysis 36
of a DNA specimen, including representations of DNA fragment 37
lengths, digital images of autoradiographs, discrete allele 38
assignment numbers, and other DNA specimen characteristics that 39
aid in establishing the identity of an individual.40

       (5) "DNA specimen" includes human blood cells or 41
physiological tissues or body fluids.42

       (6) "Unidentified person database" means a collection of DNA 43
records, and, on and after May 21, 1998, of fingerprint and 44
photograph records, of unidentified human corpses, human remains, 45
or living individuals.46

       (7) "Relatives of missing persons database" means a 47
collection of DNA records of persons related by consanguinity to a 48
missing person.49

       (8) "Law enforcement agency" means a police department, the 50
office of a sheriff, the state highway patrol, a county 51
prosecuting attorney, or a federal, state, or local governmental 52
body that enforces criminal laws and that has employees who have a 53
statutory power of arrest.54

       (9) "Administration of criminal justice" means the 55
performance of detection, apprehension, detention, pretrial 56
release, post-trial release, prosecution, adjudication, 57
correctional supervision, or rehabilitation of accused persons or 58
criminal offenders. "Administration of criminal justice" also 59
includes criminal identification activities and the collection, 60
storage, and dissemination of criminal history record information.61

       (B)(1) The superintendent of the bureau of criminal 62
identification and investigation may do all of the following:63

       (a) Establish and maintain a state DNA laboratory to perform 64
DNA analyses of DNA specimens;65

       (b) Establish and maintain a DNA database;66

       (c) Establish and maintain an unidentified person database to 67
aid in the establishment of the identity of unknown human corpses, 68
human remains, or living individuals;69

       (d) Establish and maintain a relatives of missing persons 70
database for comparison with the unidentified person database to 71
aid in the establishment of the identity of unknown human corpses, 72
human remains, and living individuals.73

       (2) If the bureau of criminal identification and 74
investigation establishes and maintains a DNA laboratory and a DNA 75
database, the bureau may use or disclose information regarding DNA 76
records for the following purposes:77

       (a) The bureau may disclose information to a law enforcement 78
agency for the administration of criminal justice.79

       (b) The bureau shall disclose pursuant to a court order 80
issued under section 3111.09 of the Revised Code any information 81
necessary to determine the existence of a parent and child 82
relationship in an action brought under sections 3111.01 to 83
3111.18 of the Revised Code.84

       (c) The bureau may use or disclose information from the 85
population statistics database, for identification research and 86
protocol development, or for quality control purposes.87

       (3) If the bureau of criminal identification and 88
investigation establishes and maintains a relatives of missing 89
persons database, all of the following apply:90

       (a) If a person has disappeared and has been continuously 91
absent from the person's place of last domicile for a thirty-day 92
or longer period of time without being heard from during the 93
period, persons related by consanguinity to the missing person may 94
submit to the bureau a DNA specimen, the bureau may include the 95
DNA record of the specimen in the relatives of missing persons 96
database, and, if the bureau does not include the DNA record of 97
the specimen in the relatives of missing persons database, the 98
bureau shall retain the DNA record for future reference and 99
inclusion as appropriate in that database.100

       (b) The bureau shall not charge a fee for the submission of a 101
DNA specimen pursuant to division (B)(3)(a) of this section.102

       (c) If the DNA specimen submitted pursuant to division 103
(B)(3)(a) of this section is collected by withdrawing blood from 104
the person or a similarly invasive procedure, a physician, 105
registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, duly licensed clinical 106
laboratory technician, or other qualified medical practitioner 107
shall conduct the collection procedure for the DNA specimen 108
submitted pursuant to division (B)(3)(a) of this section and shall 109
collect the DNA specimen in a medically approved manner. If the 110
DNA specimen is collected by swabbing for buccal cells or a 111
similarly noninvasive procedure, division (B)(3)(c) of this 112
section does not require that the DNA specimen be collected by a 113
qualified medical practitioner of that nature. No later than 114
fifteen days after the date of the collection of the DNA specimen, 115
the person conducting the DNA specimen collection procedure shall 116
cause the DNA specimen to be forwarded to the bureau of criminal 117
identification and investigation in accordance with procedures 118
established by the superintendent of the bureau under division (H) 119
of this section. The bureau may provide the specimen vials, 120
mailing tubes, labels, postage, and instruction needed for the 121
collection and forwarding of the DNA specimen to the bureau.122

       (d) The superintendent, in the superintendent's discretion, 123
may compare DNA records in the relatives of missing persons 124
database with the DNA records in the unidentified person database.125

       (4) If the bureau of criminal identification and 126
investigation establishes and maintains an unidentified person 127
database and if the superintendent of the bureau identifies a 128
matching DNA record for the DNA record of a person or deceased 129
person whose DNA record is contained in the unidentified person 130
database, the superintendent shall inform the coroner who 131
submitted or the law enforcement agency that submitted the DNA 132
specimen to the bureau of the match and, if possible, of the 133
identity of the unidentified person.134

       (5) The bureau of criminal identification and investigation 135
may enter into a contract with a qualified public or private 136
laboratory to perform DNA analyses, DNA specimen maintenance, 137
preservation, and storage, DNA record keeping, and other duties 138
required of the bureau under this section. A public or private 139
laboratory under contract with the bureau shall follow quality 140
assurance and privacy requirements established by the 141
superintendent of the bureau.142

       (C) The superintendent of the bureau of criminal 143
identification and investigation shall establish procedures for 144
entering into the DNA database the DNA records submitted pursuant 145
to sections 2152.74 and 2901.07 of the Revised Code and for 146
determining an order of priority for entry of the DNA records 147
based on the types of offenses committed by the persons whose 148
records are submitted and the available resources of the bureau.149

       (D) When a DNA record is derived from a DNA specimen provided 150
pursuant to section 2152.74 or 2901.07 of the Revised Code, the 151
bureau of criminal identification and investigation shall attach 152
to the DNA record personal identification information that 153
identifies the person from whom the DNA specimen was taken. The 154
personal identification information may include the subject 155
person's fingerprints and any other information the bureau 156
determines necessary. The DNA record and personal identification 157
information attached to it shall be used only for the purpose of 158
personal identification or for a purpose specified in this 159
section.160

       (E) DNA records, DNA specimens, fingerprints, and photographs 161
that the bureau of criminal identification and investigation 162
receives pursuant to this section and sections 313.08, 2152.74, 163
and 2901.07, and 2933.82 of the Revised Code and personal 164
identification information attached to a DNA record are not public 165
records under section 149.43 of the Revised Code.166

       (F) The bureau of criminal identification and investigation 167
may charge a reasonable fee for providing information pursuant to 168
this section to any law enforcement agency located in another 169
state.170

       (G)(1) No person who because of the person's employment or 171
official position has access to a DNA specimen, a DNA record, or 172
other information contained in the DNA database that identifies an 173
individual shall knowingly disclose that specimen, record, or 174
information to any person or agency not entitled to receive it or 175
otherwise shall misuse that specimen, record, or information.176

       (2) No person without authorization or privilege to obtain 177
information contained in the DNA database that identifies an 178
individual person shall purposely obtain that information.179

       (H) The superintendent of the bureau of criminal 180
identification and investigation shall establish procedures for 181
all of the following:182

       (1) The forwarding to the bureau of DNA specimens collected 183
pursuant to division (H) of this section and sections 313.08, 184
2152.74, and 2901.07, and 2933.82 of the Revised Code and of 185
fingerprints and photographs collected pursuant to section 313.08 186
of the Revised Code;187

       (2) The collection, maintenance, preservation, and analysis 188
of DNA specimens;189

       (3) The creation, maintenance, and operation of the DNA 190
database;191

       (4) The use and dissemination of information from the DNA 192
database;193

       (5) The creation, maintenance, and operation of the 194
unidentified person database;195

       (6) The use and dissemination of information from the 196
unidentified person database;197

       (7) The creation, maintenance, and operation of the relatives 198
of missing persons database;199

       (8) The use and dissemination of information from the 200
relatives of missing persons database;201

       (9) The verification of entities requesting DNA records and 202
other DNA information from the bureau and the authority of the 203
entity to receive the information;204

       (10) The operation of the bureau and responsibilities of 205
employees of the bureau with respect to the activities described 206
in this section.207

       (I) In conducting DNA analyses of DNA specimens, the state 208
DNA laboratory and any laboratory with which the bureau has 209
entered into a contract pursuant to division (B)(5) of this 210
section shall give DNA analyses of DNA specimens that relate to 211
ongoing criminal investigations or prosecutions or that are 212
forwarded by law enforcement agencies pursuant to divisions 213
(B)(2)(a) and (b) of section 2933.82 of the Revised Code priority 214
over DNA analyses of DNA specimens that relate to applications 215
made pursuant to section 2953.73 of the Revised Code. The state 216
DNA laboratory and any laboratory under contract with the bureau 217
to perform DNA analyses shall consider the period of time 218
remaining under section 2901.13 of the Revised Code for commencing 219
the prosecution of a criminal offense related to the DNA specimens 220
as well as other relevant factors in prioritizing DNA analysis of 221
the DNA specimens forwarded by law enforcement agencies pursuant 222
to division (B)(2)(a) or (b) of section 2933.82 of the Revised 223
Code.224

       (J) The attorney general may develop procedures for entering 225
into the national DNA index system the DNA records submitted 226
pursuant to division (B)(1) of section 2901.07 of the Revised 227
Code.228

       Sec. 2933.82.  (A) As used in this section:229

       (1)(a) "Biological evidence" means any of the following:230

       (i) The contents of a sexual assault examination kit;231

       (ii) Any item that contains blood, semen, hair, saliva, skin 232
tissue, fingernail scrapings, bone, bodily fluids, or any other 233
identifiable biological material that was collected as part of a 234
criminal investigation or delinquent child investigation and that 235
reasonably may be used to incriminate or exculpate any person for 236
an offense or delinquent act. 237

       (b) The definition of "biological evidence" set forth in 238
division (A)(1)(a) of this section applies whether the material in 239
question is cataloged separately, such as on a slide or swab or in 240
a test tube, or is present on other evidence, including, but not 241
limited to, clothing, ligatures, bedding or other household 242
material, drinking cups or containers, or cigarettes.243

       (2) "Biological material" has the same meaning as in section 244
2953.71 of the Revised Code.245

       (3) "DNA," has"DNA analysis," "DNA database," "DNA record," 246
and "DNA specimen" have the same meaningmeanings as in section 247
109.573 of the Revised Code.248

       (4) "Profile" means a unique identifier of an individual, 249
derived from DNA.250

       (5) "Prosecutor" has the same meaning as in section 2935.01 251
of the Revised Code.252

       (6)(5) "Governmental evidence-retention entity" means all of 253
the following:254

       (a) Any law enforcement agency, prosecutor's office, court, 255
public hospital, crime laboratory, or other governmental or public 256
entity or individual within this state that is charged with the 257
collection, storage, or retrieval of biological evidence;258

       (b) Any official or employee of any entity or individual 259
described in division (A)(6)(5)(a) of this section. 260

       (B)(1) Each governmental evidence-retention entity that 261
secures any biological evidence in relation to an investigation or 262
prosecution of a criminal offense or delinquent act that is a 263
violation of section 2903.01, 2903.02, or 2903.03, a violation of 264
section 2903.04 or 2903.06 that is a felony of the first or second 265
degree, a violation of section 2907.02 or 2907.03 or division 266
(A)(4) or (B) of section 2907.05 of the Revised Code, or an 267
attempt to commit a violation of section 2907.02 of the Revised 268
Code shall secure the biological evidence for whichever of the 269
following periods of time is applicable: 270

       (a) For a violation of section 2903.01 or 2903.02 of the 271
Revised Code, for the period of time that the offense or act 272
remains unsolved;273

       (b) For a violation of section 2903.03, a violation of 274
section 2903.04 or 2903.06 that is a felony of the first or second 275
degree, a violation of section 2907.02 or 2907.03 or of division 276
(A)(4) or (B) of section 2907.05 of the Revised Code, or an 277
attempt to commit a violation of section 2907.02 of the Revised 278
Code, for a period of thirty years if the offense or act remains 279
unsolved;280

       (c) If any person is convicted of or pleads guilty to the 281
offense, or is adjudicated a delinquent child for committing the 282
delinquent act, for the earlier of the following: (i) the 283
expiration of the latest of the following periods of time that 284
apply to the person: the period of time that the person is 285
incarcerated, is in a department of youth services institution or 286
other juvenile facility, is under a community control sanction for 287
that offense, is under any order of disposition for that act, is 288
on probation or parole for that offense, is under judicial release 289
or supervised release for that act, is under post-release control 290
for that offense, is involved in civil litigation in connection 291
with that offense or act, or is subject to registration and other 292
duties imposed for that offense or act under sections 2950.04, 293
2950.041, 2950.05, and 2950.06 of the Revised Code or (ii) thirty 294
years. If after the period of thirty years the person remains 295
incarcerated, then the governmental evidence-retention entity 296
shall secure the biological evidence until the person is released 297
from incarceration or dies.298

       (2)(a) A law enforcement agency shall review all of its 299
records and reports pertaining to its investigation of any offense 300
specified in division (B)(1) of this section as soon as possible 301
after the effective date of this amendment. If the law enforcement 302
agency's review determines that one or more persons may have 303
committed or participated in an offense specified in division 304
(B)(1) of this section or another offense committed during the 305
course of an offense specified in division (B)(1) of this section 306
and the agency is in possession of a sexual assault examination 307
kit secured during the course of the agency's investigation, as 308
soon as possible, but not later than one year after the effective 309
date of this amendment, the agency shall forward the contents of 310
the kit to the bureau of criminal identification and investigation 311
or another crime laboratory for a DNA analysis of the contents of 312
the kit if a DNA analysis has not previously been performed on the 313
contents of the kit. The law enforcement agency shall consider the 314
period of time remaining under section 2901.13 of the Revised Code 315
for commencing the prosecution of a criminal offense related to 316
the DNA specimens from the kit as well as other relevant factors 317
in prioritizing the forwarding of the contents of sexual assault 318
examination kits.319

       (b) If an investigation is initiated on or after the 320
effective date of this amendment, and if a law enforcement agency 321
investigating an offense specified in division (B)(1) of this 322
section determines that one or more persons may have committed or 323
participated in an offense specified in division (B)(1) of this 324
section or another offense committed during the course of an 325
offense specified in division (B)(1) of this section, the law 326
enforcement agency shall forward the contents of a sexual assault 327
examination kit in the agency's possession to the bureau or 328
another crime laboratory within thirty days for a DNA analysis of 329
the contents of the kit.330

       (c) A law enforcement agency shall be considered in the 331
possession of a sexual assault examination kit that is not in the 332
law enforcement agency's possession for purposes of divisions 333
(B)(2)(a) and (b) of this section if the sexual assault 334
examination kit contains biological evidence related to the law 335
enforcement agency's investigation of an offense specified in 336
division (B)(1) of this section and is in the possession of 337
another government evidence-retention entity. The law enforcement 338
agency shall be responsible for retrieving the sexual assault 339
examination kit from the government evidence-retention entity and 340
forwarding the contents of the kit to the bureau or another crime 341
laboratory as required under divisions (B)(2)(a) and (b) of this 342
section.343

       (d)(i) The bureau or a laboratory under contract with the 344
bureau pursuant to division (B)(5) of section 109.573 of the 345
Revised Code shall perform a DNA analysis of the contents of any 346
sexual assault examination kit forwarded to the bureau pursuant to 347
division (B)(2)(a) or (b) of this section as soon as possible 348
after the bureau receives the contents of the kit. The bureau 349
shall enter the resulting DNA record into a DNA database. If the 350
DNA analysis is performed by a laboratory under contract with the 351
bureau, the laboratory shall forward the biological evidence to 352
the bureau immediately after the laboratory performs the DNA 353
analysis. A crime laboratory shall perform a DNA analysis of the 354
contents of any sexual assault examination kit forwarded to the 355
crime laboratory pursuant to division (B)(2)(a) or (b) of this 356
section as soon as possible after the crime laboratory receives 357
the contents of the kit and shall enter the resulting DNA record 358
into a DNA database subject to the applicable DNA index system 359
standards.360

       (ii) Upon the completion of the DNA analysis by the bureau or 361
a crime laboratory under contract with the bureau under this 362
division, the bureau shall return the contents of the sexual 363
assault examination kit to the law enforcement agency. The law 364
enforcement agency shall secure the contents of the sexual assault 365
examination kit in accordance with division (B)(1) of this 366
section, as applicable.367

       (e) The failure of any law enforcement agency to comply with 368
any time limit specified in this section shall not create, and 369
shall not be construed as creating, any basis or right to appeal, 370
claim for or right to postconviction relief, or claim for or right 371
to a new trial or any other claim or right to relief by any 372
person.373

       (3) This section applies to evidence likely to contain 374
biological material that was in the possession of any governmental 375
evidence-retention entity during the investigation and prosecution 376
of a criminal case or delinquent child case involving a violation 377
of section 2903.01, 2903.02, or 2903.03, a violation of section 378
2903.04 or 2903.06 that is a felony of the first or second degree, 379
a violation of section 2907.02 or 2907.03 or of division (A)(4) or 380
(B) of section 2907.05 of the Revised Code, or an attempt to 381
commit a violation of section 2907.02 of the Revised Code.382

       (3)(4) A governmental evidence-retention entity that 383
possesses biological evidence shall retain the biological evidence 384
in the amount and manner sufficient to develop a DNA profile385
record from the biological material contained in or included on 386
the evidence. 387

       (4)(5) Upon written request by the defendant in a criminal 388
case or the alleged delinquent child in a delinquent child case 389
involving a violation of section 2903.01, 2903.02, or 2903.03, a 390
violation of section 2903.04 or 2903.06 that is a felony of the 391
first or second degree, a violation of section 2907.02 or 2907.03 392
or of division (A)(4) or (B) of section 2907.05 of the Revised 393
Code, or an attempt to commit a violation of section 2907.02 of 394
the Revised Code, a governmental evidence-retention entity that 395
possesses biological evidence shall prepare an inventory of the 396
biological evidence that has been preserved in connection with the 397
defendant's criminal case or the alleged delinquent child's 398
delinquent child case. 399

       (5)(6) Except as otherwise provided in division (B)(7)(8) of 400
this section, a governmental evidence-retention entity that 401
possesses biological evidence that includes biological material 402
may destroy the evidence before the expiration of the applicable 403
period of time specified in division (B)(1) of this section if all 404
of the following apply: 405

       (a) No other provision of federal or state law requires the 406
state to preserve the evidence. 407

       (b) The governmental evidence-retention entity, by certified 408
mail, return receipt requested, provides notice of intent to 409
destroy the evidence to all of the following: 410

       (i) All persons who remain in custody, incarcerated, in a 411
department of youth services institution or other juvenile 412
facility, under a community control sanction, under any order of 413
disposition, on probation or parole, under judicial release or 414
supervised release, under post-release control, involved in civil 415
litigation, or subject to registration and other duties imposed 416
for that offense or act under sections 2950.04, 2950.041, 2950.05, 417
and 2950.06 of the Revised Code as a result of a criminal 418
conviction, delinquency adjudication, or commitment related to the 419
evidence in question; 420

       (ii) The attorney of record for each person who is in custody 421
in any circumstance described in division (B)(5)(6)(b)(i) of this 422
section if the attorney of record can be located; 423

       (iii) The state public defender; 424

       (iv) The office of the prosecutor of record in the case that 425
resulted in the custody of the person in custody in any 426
circumstance described in division (B)(5)(6)(b)(i) of this 427
section; 428

       (v) The attorney general. 429

       (c) No person who is notified under division (B)(5)(6)(b) of 430
this section does either of the following within one year after 431
the date on which the person receives the notice: 432

       (i) Files a motion for testing of evidence under sections 433
2953.71 to 2953.81 or section 2953.82 of the Revised Code;434

       (ii) Submits a written request for retention of evidence to 435
the governmental evidence-retention entity that provided notice of 436
its intent to destroy evidence under division (B)(5)(6)(b) of this 437
section. 438

       (6)(7) Except as otherwise provided in division (B)(7)(8) of 439
this section, if, after providing notice under division 440
(B)(5)(6)(b) of this section of its intent to destroy evidence, a 441
governmental evidence-retention entity receives a written request 442
for retention of the evidence from any person to whom the notice 443
is provided, the governmental evidence-retention entity shall 444
retain the evidence while the person referred to in division 445
(B)(5)(6)(b)(i) of this section remains in custody, incarcerated, 446
in a department of youth services institution or other juvenile 447
facility, under a community control sanction, under any order of 448
disposition, on probation or parole, under judicial release or 449
supervised release, under post-release control, involved in civil 450
litigation, or subject to registration and other duties imposed 451
for that offense or act under sections 2950.04, 2950.041, 2950.05, 452
and 2950.06 of the Revised Code as a result of a criminal 453
conviction, delinquency adjudication, or commitment related to the 454
evidence in question.455

       (7)(8) A governmental evidence-retention entity that 456
possesses biological evidence that includes biological material 457
may destroy the evidence five years after a person pleads guilty 458
or no contest to a violation of section 2903.01, 2903.02, or 459
2903.03, a violation of section 2903.04 or 2903.06 that is a 460
felony of the first or second degree, a violation of section 461
2907.02, 2907.03, division (A)(4) or (B) of section 2907.05, or an 462
attempt to commit a violation of section 2907.02 of the Revised 463
Code and all appeals have been exhausted unless, upon a motion to 464
the court by the person who pleaded guilty or no contest or the 465
person's attorney and notice to those persons described in 466
division (B)(5)(6)(b) of this section requesting that the evidence 467
not be destroyed, the court finds good cause as to why that 468
evidence must be retained.469

       (8)(9) A governmental evidence-retention entity shall not be 470
required to preserve physical evidence pursuant to this section 471
that is of such a size, bulk, or physical character as to render 472
retention impracticable. When retention of physical evidence that 473
otherwise would be required to be retained pursuant to this 474
section is impracticable as described in this division, the 475
governmental evidence-retention entity that otherwise would be 476
required to retain the physical evidence shall remove and preserve 477
portions of the material evidence likely to contain biological 478
evidence related to the offense, in a quantity sufficient to 479
permit future DNA testing before returning or disposing of that 480
physical evidence. 481

       (C)(1) The preservation of biological evidence task force 482
established within the bureau of criminal identification and 483
investigation under section 109.561 of the Revised Code shall 484
establish a system regarding the proper preservation of biological 485
evidence in this state. In establishing the system, the task force 486
shall do all of the following: 487

       (a) Devise standards regarding the proper collection, 488
retention, and cataloguingcataloging of biological evidence for 489
ongoing investigations and prosecutions; 490

       (b) Recommend practices, protocols, models, and resources for 491
the cataloging and accessibility of preserved biological evidence 492
already in the possession of governmental evidence-retention 493
entities. 494

       (2) In consultation with the preservation of biological 495
evidence task force described in division (C)(1) of this section, 496
the office of the attorney general shall administer and conduct 497
training programs for law enforcement officers and other relevant 498
employees who are charged with preserving and cataloging 499
biological evidence regarding the methods and procedures 500
referenced in this section.501

       Section 2. That existing sections 109.573 and 2933.82 of the 502
Revised Code are hereby repealed.503

       Section 3.  In amending sections 109.573 and 2933.82 of the 504
Revised Code in this act, the General Assembly finds and declares 505
all of the following:506

        (A) Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analysis is a powerful law 507
enforcement tool for identifying and prosecuting sex offenders.508

       (B) Victims of sexually oriented offenses have a strong 509
interest in the investigation and prosecution of their cases.510

       (C) The privacy of victims of sexually oriented offenses 511
should be protected to the full extent permissible under the law.512

       (D) Law enforcement agencies have an obligation to victims of 513
sexually oriented offenses in the proper handling, retention, and 514
timely DNA analysis of DNA specimens and to be responsive to 515
victims of sexually oriented offenses concerning the development 516
of DNA records and the investigation of their cases.517

       (E) The Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation's 518
entry of DNA records resulting from DNA analyses of DNA specimens 519
obtained from the contents of sexual assault examination kits into 520
a DNA database makes it possible for many sex offenders to be 521
identified, provided that the contents of sexual assault 522
examination kits are analyzed in a timely manner.523

       (F) Timely DNA analysis of DNA specimens obtained from the 524
contents of sexual assault examination kits facilitates the 525
prosecution of sexually oriented offenses within the statute of 526
limitation for the offense and furthers public safety in Ohio.527