DENVER-
The House Appropriations Committee approved a measure Friday that lawmakers said will close a loophole in a law requiring felons to give a DNA sample that has allowed 4,137 people in jail to escape the rules.
Rep. Steve King, R-Grand Junction, said new inmates are tested and recorded, but felons who were in jail when the bill was passed weren’t required to give up their DNA until they were released.
Under current law, offenders who submit a DNA sample are required to pay a private party $15 to $25 to draw a blood sample that is sent to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for analysis.
The court also attempts to collect a $128 fee to cover the costs of processing and analyzing the DNA sample. However, that fee is collected from only a small percentage of offenders.
The bill (House Bill 1343) could also increase the number of inmates in prison if DNA tests generate new convictions for previously unsolved crimes.
The bill now goes to the full House for debate.
