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OAKLAND— California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a statement after Assembly Bill 3042 (AB 3042) was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom. Authored by Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen (D – Elk Grove), AB 3042 ensures DOJ will be able to continue to provide important forensic DNA services with funding through updates to Proposition 69, the “DNA Fingerprint, Unsolved Crime and Innocence Protection Act.” The bill also extends the sunset date for Proposition 69 and directs funding from criminal fines to support essential crime-solving DNA programs both at DOJ and local law enforcement agencies.
“I am very proud of the important work that is done in our Bureau of Forensic Services and will continue to be done thanks to this new law,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta.“The Bureau receives crucial funding through Proposition 69, and AB 3024 will ensure that Proposition 69 remains in place to support our efforts to solve crime through forensic services. I want to thank Assemblymember Nguyen, our legislative partners and Governor Newsom for their work toward this important goal.”
“I would never feel safe knowing someone who has harmed me or my loved ones are still out there,” said Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen. “I am proud to author AB 3042 in collaboration with Attorney General Bonta to continue key funding to better support public safety in our communities as well as exonerating the innocent.”
Voters approved Proposition 69 in November 2004. Proposition 69 specifically directs money from criminal fines to be allocated towards funding the CAL-DNA Data Bank program which helps to solve violent crimes both at local public crime laboratories and within DOJ itself using the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). In another provision of Proposition 69, the CAL-DNA Data Bank also assists with the identification of missing and unidentified persons, including abducted children, using separate Missing Person CODIS databases. Historically, DOJ has received more than $74 million through Prop. 69 over a span of two decades. However, this proposition included a sunset date that would terminate funding collection after twenty years. AB 3042 sought to extend the sunset date to establish a steady source of revenue outside of the General Fund that will support DNA testing programs at both state and local levels.
AB 3042 was supported by California Association of Crime Laboratory Directors, California District Attorneys Association, California State Sheriffs’ Association, County of Kern County Board of Supervisors, Los Angeles Board of Supervisors, Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.
The text of the legislation is available here.