HB 1323 Summary

• Amends evidence preservation requirements to limit governmental entities to maintaining physical evidence containing biological material for DNA testing only in serious crimes (homicide, sexual battery, robbery, arson, burglary, and related felonies) for the duration the crime remains unsolved or the convicted individual remains incarcerated.

• Allows disposal of evidence once a sentence expires unless other law requires retention, but requires preservation of biological evidence portions when physical evidence is too large or bulky to retain in full.

• Requires governmental entities to provide written inventories of preserved biological evidence to defendants in serious crime cases upon request.

• Establishes an Eyewitness Identification Task Force composed of law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, defense attorneys, and academic experts to develop recommended guidelines for eyewitness identification procedures including blind administration, specific witness instructions, appropriate filler numbers, and recording requirements.

• Directs the Department of Law Enforcement to create a training curriculum based on task force guidelines for law enforcement officers by June 30, 2012, with the task force terminating after submitting its report by October 1, 2011.