Bill Text: NY S00703 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Establishes the New York state online genealogy website search policy.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO FINANCE [S00703 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S00703-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                           703
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                       (Prefiled)
                                     January 9, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  BOYLE  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance
        AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to establishing  the  New
          York  state  online genealogy website search policy and relates to the
          release of certain information
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.  Subdivision  13  of section 995-b of the executive law is
     2  amended by adding a new paragraph (e) to read as follows:
     3    (e) (i) The DNA subcommittee shall provide nonbinding  recommendations
     4  for a New York state online genealogy website search policy.  The online
     5  genealogy  website  search  policy shall include, but not be limited to,
     6  assessing  and  evaluating  the  accuracy  of  using  online   genealogy
     7  websites,  providing  recommendations on the parameters for using online
     8  genealogy  websites,  creating  procedures  for  when  online  genealogy
     9  websites  should  and  should  not be used, and determining the expected
    10  fiscal implications of conducting online genealogy searches in New  York
    11  state.
    12    (ii)  For  the  accomplishment  of  its purposes, the DNA subcommittee
    13  shall be authorized and empowered to undertake any  studies,  inquiries,
    14  surveys or analyses it may deem relevant through its own personnel or in
    15  cooperation  with or by agreement with any other public or private agen-
    16  cy.
    17    (iii) The DNA subcommittee shall meet  and  hold  public  hearings  or
    18  private  meetings and shall have all the powers of a legislative commit-
    19  tee pursuant to the legislative law.
    20    (iv) The commission shall make a report of the DNA subcommittees find-
    21  ings, including any recommendations for legislative  action  as  it  may
    22  deem  necessary  and appropriate, to the governor and the legislature no
    23  later than December first, two thousand nineteen.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04574-01-9
        S. 703                              2
     1    (v) For purposes of this paragraph  "online  genealogy  search"  shall
     2  mean  an  intentional  or deliberate search of the DNA database using an
     3  online genealogy website conducted for the purpose of potentially  iden-
     4  tifying close biological relatives of the unknown forensic samples asso-
     5  ciated with the crime scene profile.
     6    §  2. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 6 of section 995-c of the executive
     7  law, as added by chapter 737 of the laws of 1994, is amended and  a  new
     8  paragraph (d) is added to read as follows:
     9    (c)  after personally identifiable information has been removed by the
    10  division, to an entity authorized by the division  for  the  purpose  of
    11  creating  or  maintaining  a population statistics database or for iden-
    12  tification research and protocol development for forensic  DNA  analysis
    13  or quality control purposes[.];
    14    (d)  (i)  to  a federal law enforcement agency, or to a state or local
    15  law enforcement agency or district attorney's office for law enforcement
    16  online genealogy searching purposes upon submission of a DNA  record  in
    17  connection  with  the  investigation  of  the  commission of one or more
    18  crimes, provided that there exists between the division and such  agency
    19  a  written  agreement  governing  the  use and dissemination of such DNA
    20  records in accordance with the provisions of this article;
    21    (ii) online genealogy searches may be conducted when a law enforcement
    22  agency is investigating the commission of a violent  felony  offense  as
    23  defined  in  section 70.02 of the penal law, and where there is no match
    24  of a single source DNA profile from the crime scene, and where all other
    25  leads have been exhausted.
    26    (iii) The commission, in conjunction with the DNA subcommittee,  shall
    27  create a New York state online genealogy website search policy to imple-
    28  ment  using online genealogy searching in the state of New York. The DNA
    29  subcommittee report, as authorized in paragraph (e) of subdivision thir-
    30  teen of section nine hundred ninety-five-b of this article, may  provide
    31  additional  guidelines and recommendations for the New York state online
    32  genealogy website search policy.
    33    § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    34  it shall have become a law.  Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
    35  ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
    36  tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be  made  and
    37  completed on or before such effective date.