SALT LAKE CITY -- State lawmakers want to increase the number of people they can collect DNA from and make them pay for it in the process.
Sen. Stuart Adams, R-Layton, says that a person's most sensitive genetic information can be used to determine who committed a crime, and thus can save lives. It can also be used to set people free.
"Of equal importance are those innocent who will be cleared of charges," said Lois Smart, mother of Elizabeth Smart.
Senate Bill 277 would require that any law enforcement agency that books a person for any violent crime obtain a DNA specimen. Should the suspect be convicted, he or she would pay $150 to process the information.
Privacy advocates and several senators weren't convinced that the genetic privacy of the accused would be adequately protected.
"These sorts of bills have led to lawsuits in a lot of different states," said Marina Lowe, of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Stuart said the bill is written with safeguards in place. The DNA used is considered "junk" material that can be used only to determine the sex of the person and positive identification. It also provides that the DNA cannot be used in any way unless the person has been bound over for trial. There are also stipulations that it be destroyed if the person isn't guilty.
It's there that Sen. Ben McAdams, D-Salt Lake City, has questions. Afterward he said that the language in the bill may be broad enough to allow for suspects to be charged with other crimes based on their DNA, even if they're innocent of the crime in which the DNA was collected. He's not convinced police wouldn't use such a law to simply "troll for criminals."
That is, they wait near someplace "unsavory" and make arrests that would allow for DNA swabs. They then use the information to try and connect people to unsolved crimes. While Adams said the bill protects against that, McAdams is unconvinced.
"I would want to be persuaded that it's clear, and I'm not at this point," he said.
"It's very, very restrictive," he said.
The bill passed out of the committee unanimously and will be heard on the Senate floor.
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