Governor’s bid to expand testing of criminals faces tougher ride in Assembly
ALBANY — Expanding the state’s DNA database cleared the state Senate on Tuesday but it may be impeded by a dispute about whether the change will do enough to help the wrongfully convicted.
Law enforcement groups as well as legislators from both parties agree with Gov. Andrew Cuomo‘s proposal to take DNA samples from people convicted of any crime. But Democrats that dominate the Assembly are reluctant to approve the measure without also giving defense attorneys greater access to the DNA database or adopting other criminal justice reforms.
Republicans who control the Senate opted for a narrower approach, and authored a bill that added misdemeanor crimes to the database — currently, felonies and only some lower-level offenses such as petit larceny require a DNA sample from convicts — without including other provisions sought by groups like the State Bar Association.
Read more: TimesUnion.com