(a) Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit the Department of Justice, in its sole discretion, from the sharing or disseminating of population database or data bank information, DNA profile or forensic identification database or data bank information, analytical data and results generated for forensic identification database and data bank purposes, or protocol and forensic DNA analysis methods and quality assurance or quality control procedures with any of the following:
(1) Federal, state, or local law enforcement agencies.
(2) Crime laboratories, whether public or private, that serve federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies that have been approved by the Department of Justice.
(3) The attorney general’s office of any state.
(4) Any state or federally authorized auditing agent or board that inspects or reviews the work of the Department of Justice DNA Laboratory for the purpose of ensuring that the laboratory meets ASCLD/LAB and FBI standards for accreditation and quality assurance standards necessary under this chapter and for the state’s participation in CODIS and other national or international crime-solving networks.
(5) Any third party that the Department of Justice deems necessary to assist the department’s crime laboratory with statistical analyses of population databases, or the analyses of forensic protocol, research methods, or quality control procedures, or to assist in the recovery or identification of human remains for humanitarian purposes, including identification of missing persons.
(b) The population databases and data banks of the DNA Laboratory of the Department of Justice may be made available to and searched by the FBI and any other agency participating in the FBI’s CODIS System or any other national or international law enforcement database or data bank system.
(c) The Department of Justice may provide portions of biological samples including blood specimens, saliva samples, and buccal swab samples collected pursuant to this chapter to local public law enforcement DNA laboratories for identification purposes provided that the privacy provisions of this section are followed by the local public law enforcement laboratory and if each of the following conditions is met:
(1) The procedures used by the local public DNA laboratory for the handling of specimens and samples and the disclosure of results are the same as those established by the Department of Justice pursuant to Sections 297, 298, and 299.5.
(2) The methodologies and procedures used by the local public DNA laboratory for DNA or forensic identification analysis are compatible with those used by the Department of Justice, or otherwise are determined by the Department of Justice to be valid and appropriate for identification purposes.
(3) Only tests of value to law enforcement for identification purposes are performed and a copy of the results of the analysis are sent to the Department of Justice.
(4) All provisions of this section concerning privacy and security are followed.
(5) The local public law enforcement DNA laboratory assumes all costs of securing the specimens and samples and provides appropriate tubes, labels, and materials necessary to secure the specimens and samples.
(d) Any local DNA laboratory that produces DNA profiles of known reference samples for inclusion within the permanent files of the state’s DNA Data Bank program shall follow the policies of the DNA Laboratory of the Department of Justice.
(Amended November 2, 2004, by initiative Proposition 69, Sec. 11.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018