A $250 fee could be collected from a person who submits biological samples, according to the bill. It’s not clear who would foot the cost for the dead.
Arizona could soon be one of the first states to maintain a massive statewide DNA database.
And if the proposed legislation passes, many people — from parent school volunteers and teachers to real estate agents and foster parents — will have no choice but to give up their DNA.
Under Senate Bill 1475, which Rep. David Livingston, R-Peoria, introduced, DNA must be collected from anyone who has to be fingerprinted by the state for a job, to volunteer in certain positions or for a myriad of other reasons.
The bill would even authorize the medical examiner’s office in each county to take DNA from any bodies that come into their possession.
It could also be provided to someone conducting “legitimate research.”
A $250 fee could be collected from a person who submits biological samples, according to the bill. It’s not clear who would foot the cost for the dead.
No other state has anything this expansive in place, according to David Kaye, an associate dean for research at Penn State University who studies genetics and its application in law.
Kaye said the proposed bill is one step away from requiring DNA from anyone who wants a driver’s license.
