County penalties: forensic laboratories.

Existing law, the DNA Fingerprint, Unsolved Crime and Innocence Protection Act, an initiative measure, requires an additional penalty of $1 for every $10 or part thereof to be levied in each county upon every fine, penalty, or forfeiture imposed and collected by the courts for all criminal offenses, as specified. The act requires the county board of supervisors to establish in the county treasury a DNA Identification Fund, into which the collected penalties are to be deposited. The act specifies the purposes for which funds in the county's DNA Identification Fund may be used, including to reimburse local sheriff, police, district attorney, and regional state crime laboratories for expenditures and administrative costs made or incurred in connection with the processing, analysis, tracking, and storage of DNA crime scene samples, as specified. The act provides for its amendment by the Legislature if the amendments further the act and are consistent with its purposes to enhance the use of DNA identification evidence for the purpose of accurate and expeditious crime solving and exonerating the innocent. This bill would provide that, if authorized by a resolution of the board of supervisors, a local sheriff or police department, or the district attorney's office, may use funds remaining in the county's DNA Identification Fund, either independently or in combination with remaining funds from another county, to provide supplemental funding to a qualified local or regional state forensic laboratory, as defined, for expenditures and administrative costs made or incurred in connection with the processing, analysis, and comparison of DNA crime scene samples and forensic identification samples, and testimony related to that analysis, as specified. The bill would declare that its provisions further the initiative act, and are consistent with its purposes.