On December 18, the House approved, by voice vote, the Katie Sepich Enhanced DNA Collection Act of 2012 (H.R. 6014).
Sponsored by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the legislation would amend the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program to authorize the Department of Justice to provide grants to assist states with the costs associated with DNA arrestee collection processes. Such processes include the collection of DNA samples for the National DNA Index System from adult individuals arrested for, or charged with, a criminal offense involving a sexual act that is punishable by imprisonment for more than one year. The bill would authorize $10 million annually for FY2013 through FY2015 for such grants.
