2023 New Mexico Statutes › Chapter 29 - Law Enforcement › Article 16 - DNA Identification › Section 29-16-4 - Administrative center; powers and duties; head; location; written agreement.

A. The administrative center shall:
(1) establish and administer the DNA identification system. The DNA identification system shall provide for collection, storage, DNA testing, maintenance and comparison of samples and DNA records for forensic and humanitarian purposes. Those purposes shall include generation of investigative leads, statistical analysis of DNA profiles and identification of missing persons and unidentified human remains. Procedures used for DNA testing shall be compatible with the procedures the federal bureau of investigation has specified, including comparable test procedures, laboratory equipment, supplies and computer software. Procedures used shall meet or exceed the provisions of the federal DNA Identification Act of 1994 regarding minimum standards for state participation in CODIS, including minimum standards for the acceptance, security and dissemination of DNA records;
(2) coordinate sample collection activities;
(3) perform or contract for DNA testing;
(4) serve as a repository for samples and DNA records;
(5) act as liaison with the federal bureau of investigation for purposes of CODIS;
(6) adopt rules and procedures governing:
(a) sample collection;
(b) DNA testing;
(c) the DNA identification system and DNA records;
(d) the acceptance, security and dissemination of DNA records; and
(e) communication between local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, the corrections department and local jails and detention facilities in order to minimize duplicate sample collections from the same individual;
(7) provide training to jail and detention facility personnel who are required to collect samples pursuant to Section 29-3-10 NMSA 1978;
(8) be reimbursed for, pursuant to the DNA Identification Act, the costs of sample collection and DNA testing of samples taken for the purposes of the identification of missing persons and unidentified human remains;
(9) establish and administer the missing persons DNA identification system as a part of the DNA identification system; and
(10) establish and administer the sex offender DNA identification system as part of the DNA identification system.
B. The chief of the law enforcement agency where the administrative center is located shall select the head of the administrative center with the approval of six members of the DNA oversight committee. The head of the administrative center shall manage the operations of the administrative center and shall have the education and experience to meet or exceed the requirements for a technical leader or a CODIS administrator pursuant to the federal bureau of investigation's quality assurance standards.
C. The administrative center shall be located at the crime laboratory of the law enforcement agency for the largest municipality in a class A county having a population of more than five hundred thousand at the most recent federal decennial census. If a relocation of the administrative center is required for continued compliance with the provisions of the DNA Identification Act, the DNA oversight committee shall designate any future locations of the administrative center upon approval of six voting members of the committee.
D. The DNA oversight committee shall enter into a written agreement with the law enforcement agency where the administrative center is located and may designate the attorney general to enter into the agreement on its behalf and with its approval.
History:
Laws 1997, ch. 105, § 4; 2003, ch. 256, § 7; 2005, ch. 279, § 11; 2006, ch. 104, § 3; 2009, ch. 24, § 2; 2013, ch. 208, § 2.
ANNOTATIONS
The 2013 amendment,
effective July 1, 2013, provided for the location and relocation of the administrative center and for the selection of the head of the administrative center; provided for the qualifications of the head of the administrative center; required a written agreement between the committee and the law enforcement agency where the administrative center will be located; in the title, after "duties", deleted "transfer to other law enforcement agency" and added "head; location; written agreement"; deleted former Subsection A, which required the secretary of public safety to designate the unit to which the administrative center would be attached; deleted former Subsections C and D, which authorized the secretary of public safety to designate the location of the administrative center; and added Subsections B through D.
The 2009 amendment,
effective June 19, 2009, in Subsection A, at the end of the sentence, deleted "part of a crime laboratory" and added "that meets the requirements for participation in the national DNA index system".
The 2006 amendment,
effective January 1, 2007, added Subparagraph (e) of Paragraph (6) of Subsection B to provide for communication in order to minimize duplicate sample collections; and added Paragraph (7) of Subsection B to provide for training to personnel to collect samples.
Severability.
— Laws 2006, ch. 104, § 11, effective January 1, 2007, provided that if any part or application of this act is held invalid, the remainder or its application to other situations or persons shall not be affected.
The 2005 amendment,
effective July 1, 2005, added Subsection B(9) to provide that the administrative center shall establish and administer the sex offender DNA identification system as part of the DNA identification system.
Applicability.
— Laws 2005, ch. 279, §14, effective July 1, 2005, provided that Laws 2005, ch. 279, §§ 1 through 13 apply to a person convicted of a sex offense on or after July 1, 2005 and a person convicted of a sex offense prior to July 1, 2005 and who, on July 1, 2005, was still incarcerated, on probation or on parole for commission of that sex offense.
Entry of a DNA profile generated from a deceased person into the New Mexico DNA identification system.
— The DNA Identification Act (act), 29-16-1 to 29-16-13 NMSA 1978, requires any convicted felon, sex offender, or individual convicted as an adult pursuant to youthful offender or serious youthful offender proceedings under the Children's Code to provide a DNA sample to be entered into the DNA identification system (NMDIS), and, in addition, any individual over the age of eighteen is required to provide a DNA sample upon arrest for a felony, and although the act does not expressly mention deceased individuals with documented felony arrests or convictions, it is likely, in light of the act's purpose of facilitating the use of DNA records by law enforcement agencies in the identification, detection or exclusion of persons in connection with criminal investigations, that a court would conclude that the act permits the entry of a DNA profile generated from a deceased individual with a documented felony arrest or conviction into NMDIS for the purpose of comparison to evidence profiles generated from unsolved criminal cases.
DNA Identification Act
(1/25/21), Att'y Gen. Adv. Ltr. 2021-02.
The DNA Identification Act does not prohibit a law enforcement agency from conducting DNA searches for the purpose of establishing potential familial matches.
— The DNA Identification Act (act), 29-16-1 to 29-16-13 NMSA 1978, requires any convicted felon, sex offender, or individual convicted as an adult pursuant to youthful offender or serious youthful offender proceedings under the Children's Code to provide a DNA sample to be entered into the DNA identification system (NMDIS), and, in addition, any individual over the age of eighteen is required to provide a DNA sample upon arrest for a felony. Nothing in the act specifies that a DNA search conducted for criminal investigatory purposes may only seek an exact match, or that the identification of a specific individual is the only permissible information that may be conveyed through such a search, and therefore it is likely, notwithstanding certain administrative rules, that in light of the act's purpose of facilitating the use of DNA records by law enforcement agencies in the identification, detection or exclusion of persons in connection with criminal investigations, that a court would conclude that the act does not prohibit a law enforcement agency from conducting searches for the purpose of establishing potential familial matches.
DNA Identification Act
(1/25/21), Att'y Gen. Adv. Ltr. 2021-02.
Permissible types of DNA analysis techniques to be determined by the NMDIS Administrative Center and the FBI.
— The DNA Identification Act (act), 29-16-1 to 29-16-13 NMSA 1978, requires any convicted felon, sex offender, or individual convicted as an adult pursuant to youthful offender or serious youthful offender proceedings under the Children's Code to provide a DNA sample to be entered into the DNA identification system (NMDIS), and, in addition, any individual over the age of eighteen is required to provide a DNA sample upon arrest for a felony. The act vests the NMDIS administrative center with the administrative rulemaking authority to set specific requirements for sample collection and DNA testing, but does not specify which scientific techniques NMDIS may utilize, instead requiring that the techniques utilized be compatible with the procedures the federal bureau of investigation (FBI) has specified, including comparable test procedures, laboratory equipment, supplies and computer software, and therefore the question of whether the use of RAPID DNA analysis techniques is permissible is reserved to the NMDIS administrative center and the FBI.
DNA Identification Act
(1/25/21), Att'y Gen. Adv. Ltr. 2021-02.