Bill Text: AZ SB1055 | 2023 | Fifty-sixth Legislature 1st Regular | Engrossed
Bill Title: Funding; full-service crime labs
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2023-06-20 - Chapter 186 [SB1055 Detail]
Download: Arizona-2023-SB1055-Engrossed.html
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Senate Engrossed
full-service crime labs; funding |
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State of Arizona Senate Fifty-sixth Legislature First Regular Session 2023
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SENATE BILL 1055 |
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An Act
amending section 41-1730, Arizona Revised Statutes; appropriating monies; relating to the department of public safety.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 41-1730, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
41-1730. Department of public safety forensics fund; purposes; distributions; definition
A. The department of public safety forensics fund is established. The department shall administer the fund. Monies in the fund are subject to legislative appropriation. The department of public safety forensics fund consists of the following:
1. Monies deposited pursuant to section 12-116.01, subsection J.
2. Monies deposited pursuant to section 41-2401, subsection D, paragraphs 1 and 10.
3. Surcharge monies deposited pursuant to section 28-3396.
4. Monies contributed to the fund from any other source.
B. Monies in the department of public safety forensics fund shall be used for the following purposes:
1. Purchasing and installing fingerprint identification equipment.
2. Operating, maintaining and administering the Arizona automated fingerprint identification system and the system's remote terminals.
3. Crime laboratory operations and enhanced services.
4. Educating and training forensic scientists who are regularly employed in a crime laboratory.
5. Purchasing and maintaining scientific equipment for crime laboratory use.
6. Implementing, operating and maintaining deoxyribonucleic acid testing and administering the Arizona deoxyribonucleic acid identification system.
C. On a quarterly basis, the department of public safety shall allocate and distribute the monies in the department of public safety forensics fund that are collected pursuant to section 12-116.01 and deposited pursuant to section 41-2401, subsection D, paragraph 10 to each full-service crime laboratory. The department may use fifty-five percent of the monies for the purposes prescribed in subsection B of this section and shall distribute the remaining monies to political subdivisions that operate a crime laboratory as follows:
1. Twenty-two percent to the Phoenix police department.
2. Twelve percent to the Tucson police department.
3. Seven percent to the Mesa police department.
4. Four percent to the Scottsdale police department.
D. The distribution of monies pursuant to subsection C of this section may be adjusted shall be determined annually, if appropriate, based on the crime laboratory services provided and the percentage of the state population served by each crime laboratory the proportion of group a and group b crimes reported to the federal bureau of investigation's national incident-based reporting system for the most recent year for the jurisdiction or jurisdictions WHERE each full-service crime laboratory provides full service crime lab services in relation to the total number reported in all jurisdictions in this state. The crime laboratory directors of the political subdivisions providing crime laboratory services in this state must agree on the distribution formula and allocation. The minimum allocation for a political subdivision that provides full-service crime laboratory services is four percent.
E. For the purposes of subsections C and D of this section, "full-service crime laboratory" means a laboratory that meets all of the following:
1. Is operated by a criminal justice agency OF thE state or a political subdivision.
2. Has at least one regularly employed full-time forensic scientist who holds a minimum of a bachelor's degree in a physical or natural science.
3. Is registered as an analytical laboratory with the drug enforcement administration of the United States department of justice for the possession of all scheduled controlled substances.
4. Is accredited by an organization that provides ACCREDITATION based on the international laboratory accreditation cooperation G19 and standard ISO/IEC 17025 or standard ISO/IEC 17020 or any relevant field specific standards.
5. Provides a minimum of six forensic disciplines in the following areas, at least one of which must be DNA, digital forensics or drug toxicology:
(a) trace evidence.
(b) blood and breath alcohol.
(c) firearms and toolmarks.
(d) crime scene processing.
(e) latent print comparisons.
(f) seized drugs.
(g) dNA.
(h) digital forensics.
(i) drug toxicology.
Sec. 2. Appropriations; department of public safety forensics fund; crime lab; exemption
A. The sum of $700,000 is appropriated from the state general fund in each of fiscal years 2023-2024, 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 to the department of public safety forensics fund established by section 41-1730, Arizona Revised Statutes, as amended by this act. The department of public safety must distribute the monies pursuant to section 41-1730, subsection D, Arizona Revised Statutes, as amended by this act.
B. The sum of $200,000 is appropriated from the state general fund in fiscal year 2023-2024 to the department of public safety for crime lab services pursuant to section 41-1730, Arizona Revised Statutes, as amended by this act.
C. The appropriations made in subsections A and B of this section are exempt from the provisions of section 35-190, Arizona Revised Statutes, relating to lapsing of appropriations, except that any monies remaining unexpended and unencumbered on December 31, 2026 revert to the state general fund.
