Administering Entity
New Hampshire State Police Forensic Laboratory (Forensic Biology/DNA section)
Recent / Pending Legislation
- HB 270 (2021, enacted) – post-conviction DNA testing.
Arrestees: None.
Convicted Offenders: Yes.
Qualifying Crimes: Any felonies under all state or federal law; Any misdemeanor sex offenses under NH Rev. St. § 651-B:1; Any misdemeanor offenses against a child under NH Rev. St. § 651-B:1.
Time of Collection: Upon intake or prior to the release of any offender after conviction.
Expungement: A person whose DNA record has been included in the database pursuant to this chapter may request expungement on the grounds that the criminal conviction on which the authority for including such person’s DNA record was based has been reversed or the case dismissed, provided that such person requesting expungement has no other criminal convictions which would require inclusion of his or her record in the database. The department shall purge all records and identifiable information in the database pertaining to the person and destroy all samples from the person upon receipt of a written request for expungement pursuant to this section and a certified copy of the court order reversing and dismissing the conviction. The DNA record of any juvenile sexual offender shall be maintained in the database and shall not be automatically expunged from the database upon that individual’s reaching the age of adulthood.
Statutes / Case Law
NH Rev. St. § 651-C:2 – DNA Analysis Required
651-C:1 – Definitions
651-C:5 – Expungement of DNA Database Records Upon Reversal or Dismissal of Conviction
135:17-a Competency Hearing; Commitment for Treatment
651:8-b Hospitalization; Persons Acquitted by Reason of Insanity
Legislative History
- HB 1584-FN-Local (1996) → Ch. 177, approved June 3, 1996, effective August 2, 1996. Created RSA 632-A:20 through 632-A:24, establishing New Hampshire’s first DNA database and collection mandate. Required blood samples for DNA analysis from persons convicted of sexual offenses under RSA 632-A:2, :3, and :4, and from juvenile sex offenders before release. Established a state DNA database administered by the Division of State Police and built for compatibility with CODIS.
- HB 768-FN (2002) → Ch. 183, effective May 15, 2002. Created RSA chapter 651-C, relocating and substantially rebuilding the DNA program outside the sexual assault chapter. Established the current database framework and extended the collection mandate beyond sexual offenses to offenses against children and other specified felonies, with the definitions of “sexual offender” and “violent crime” set out at RSA 651-C:1, VIII and IX.
- HB 215 (2003) → Ch. 101, effective January 1, 2004. Titled “relative to expungement of records contained in the DNA database.” Amended the expungement provisions so that records in the DNA database are expunged pursuant to statute provided the offender has no other criminal convictions that would independently require inclusion in the database — a qualification that prevents expungement from removing a person who remains separately covered.
- HB 523-FN (2010) → Ch. 208, approved June 25, 2010, with most provisions effective August 24, 2010. The categorical expansion. Section 1 rewrote RSA 651-C:2, I to require a DNA sample upon intake or before release from any offender convicted of a sexual offense as defined in RSA 651-B:1, V, any offense against a child under RSA 651-B:1, VII, or any other felony offense under state, federal, or another state’s law. Section 2 repealed the RSA 651-C:1, VIII and IX definitions of “sexual offender” and “violent crime” as no longer needed, and repealed the old applicability section at RSA 651-C:7, replacing it with a new applicability provision reaching those incarcerated, on probation or parole for a felony, or required to register under RSA 651-B. The act also required the Department of Safety to fund the mandate from available biennial appropriations while prohibiting the use of highway funds, and carried changes to the information and analysis center contingent on HB 587-FN of the same session becoming law. Its effective dates were staggered: section 4 on July 1, 2011, section 8 on December 31, 2014, section 9 on passage, and the remainder on August 24, 2010.
- SB 339-FN (2016) → Ch. 239, effective January 1, 2017. Required DNA analysis for certain persons found not guilty by reason of insanity and persons committed to the secure psychiatric unit, extending the mandate beyond conviction-based triggers to specified civil commitment and insanity-acquittal outcomes.
- HB 270-FN (2021) → Ch. 49. Amended the statute governing post-conviction DNA testing procedures.
No program or law identified.
- No program or law found, except for what appears to be public-academic partnerships. State Police and OCME work with Univ of NH (FAIR Lab) and with non-profit DNA Doe Project..
No program or law identified.
No program or law identified.