SPONSOR:	Rep. J. Johnson & Sen. Ennis Reps. Bolden, Brady, Keeley, Kowalko, Mitchell, Osienski, Viola, Wilson

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 147th GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE BILL NO. 11

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO DNA TESTING.

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

Section 1.Amend§4713(c), Title 29 of the Delaware Code by making insertions shown by underlining and deletions shown as strike through as follows:

(c) The biological samples shall be obtained in a medically approved manner by a physician, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, phlebotomist, medical technologist or other qualified medical personnel approved by the Chief Medical Examiner, and packaged and submitted in containers provided or approved by the Chief Medical Examiner, Forensic Sciences Laboratory in accordance with administrative regulations promulgated by the Chief Medical Examiner. No civil liability shall attach to any person authorized to obtain a biological sample as provided by this section as a result of obtaining a biological sample from any person, provided the biological sample was obtained according to generally accepted medical procedures.

SYNOPSIS

This Bill permits employees that are trained by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to obtain biological samples.By eliminating the "medical" reference in the existing language, this legislation will allow for a broader pool of individuals to be trained and approved by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.This bill also allows agencies to purchase containers approved by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner directly from product vendors.