Administering Entity
Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Crime Laboratory Service
Recent / Pending Legislation
- SB 2460 (2025, died) (Relating to Rapid DNA analysis performed by certain law enforcement agencies and the content of certain DNA databases).
- SB1723 (2025, passed) – Defines Rapid DNA and authorizes a rapid DNA pilot program in two counties, to begin by September 2026.
- HB 1422 – passed in 2025 – Limited Consent for DNA Testing Program – allows rape kit testing even if no police report has been filed
Enhanced Budget Items
Funding for Rapid program
Arrestees: Yes, from adults and minors (by implication). Booking Station Rapid Ready.
Qualifying Crimes: Any felony arrest — expanded from enumerated offenses to all felony arrests by H.B. 3956 (2023, effective September 1, 2023).
Time of Collection: After arrest — immediately following fingerprinting, at the same location.
Expungement: On acquittal or dismissal, or after habeas corpus relief, the court orders the collecting law enforcement agency to destroy the specimen and associated records immediately. Expungement is also available through “an order of expunction” under the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, or a “certified copy of a court order” that “seals the juvenile record of the adjudication that resulted in the DNA record”.
Statutes / Case Law
§ 411.1473 DNA RECORDS OF CERTAIN REGISTERED SEX OFFENDERS TEX. GOV’T CODE § 411.148. MANDATORY DNA RECORD
§ 411.151, EXPUNCTION OR REMOVAL OF DNA RECORDS
Johnson v. Davis, 178 S.W. 3d 230 (Tex. App. 2005) (“We conclude that the Texas DNA collection statute does not violate the search and seizure prohibition in article I, section 9 of the Texas Constitution.”)
Convicted Offenders: Yes – adults and juveniles.
Qualifying Crimes: Three categories: (1) Penal Code Title 5 offenses (criminal homicide; murder; capital murder; kidnapping; aggravated kidnapping; smuggling and continuous smuggling of persons; trafficking and continuous trafficking of persons; sexual offenses; assaultive offenses) punishable as a Class A misdemeanor — excluding offenses punishable as a Class A misdemeanor under 22.05, Deadly Conduct; or (2) offenses punishable as a Class A or B misdemeanor under Penal Code § 21.08 (indecent exposure), § 25.04 (enticing a child), or § 43.24 (sale, distribution, or display of harmful material to a minor) — solicitation of prostitution (former § 43.02 listing) no longer appears in § 411.1471(a)(2); or (3) Registered sex offenders or terrorist offenders. Note that adults and adjudicated juveniles currently confined to a Texas penal institution for a felony must also provide a sample.
Time of Collection: Collected after conviction.
Expungement: As soon as practicable after (1) acquittal of a defendant arrested for any felony-grade offense, (2) dismissal of the case, or (3) habeas corpus relief based on a court finding that the defendant is actually innocent of the crime for which he or she was sentenced, the court orders the collecting law enforcement agency to destroy the specimen and associated records immediately Further, expungement is available upon “an order of expunction” pursuant to the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure or a “certified copy of a court order” that “seals the juvenile record of the adjudication that resulted in the DNA record.”
Statutes / Case Law
Tex. Gov’t Code § 411.144. Regulation of DNA Laboratories; Penalties
Tex. Gov’t Code § 411.148. Mandatory DNA Record
Tex. Gov’t Code § 411.151. Expunction or Removal of DNA Records
Tex. Gov’t Code § 411.1471. DNA Records of Persons Arrested for Charged with, or Convicted of Certain Offense
Tex. Gov’t Code § 411.1473. DNA Records of Certain Registered Sex Offenders
Velasquez v. Woods, 329 F.3d 420, 421 (5th Cir. 2003) (collection of blood samples from felons for registration in a DNA databank pursuant to § 411.148 does not violate those felons’ Fourth Amendment right to privacy).
Groceman v. U.S. Dep. of Justice, 354 F.3d 411 (5t h Cir. 2004) (collection of DNA from prisoners under the DNA Act is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment)
Legislative History
HB 40, 74th Legislature (1995) Eff. September 1, 1995. Created the entire DNA Database Subchapter G (Gov’t Code §§411.141–411.154). Established DPS as the central DNA repository, mandated collection from convicted sex offenders and certain inmates, and set up CODIS compatibility. This is the foundational law — §411.1471 did not yet exist.
SB 638, 77th Legislature (2001) Eff. September 1, 2001 (collection began February 1, 2002). Created §411.1471. Required DNA collection at the time of indictment (not yet arrest) for 9 enumerated violent/sexual felonies. Texas was the first state in the nation with a pre-conviction DNA law. Also created §411.1472 (community supervision), Art. 17.47 CCP (DNA as bail condition), and Art. 102.020 CCP (court costs).
HB 941, 84th Legislature (2015) Eff. September 1, 2015. Amended §411.1471 to add two offenses to the indictment-trigger list — continuous sexual abuse of a child (§21.02) and continuous trafficking of persons (§20A.03) — bringing the enumerated list from 9 to 11. Also expanded conviction-based collection to a broader category of Title 5 offenses punishable as Class A misdemeanor or higher.
HB 979, 86th Legislature (2019) Eff. September 1, 2019. Narrowly amended §411.1471(a)(3) to remove exemptions for simple assault (§22.01) and unlawful restraint (§20.02) from the conviction-based collection category, effectively expanding who must provide a DNA sample upon conviction.
HB 1399, 86th Legislature (2019) — “Krystal Jean Baker Act” Eff. September 1, 2019. Major rewrite of §411.1471. Shifted the collection trigger from indictment to arrest and expanded the qualifying offense list from 11 to 25 enumerated felonies (adding murder, capital murder, kidnapping, trafficking, robbery, aggravated robbery, theft, and others). Passed House 77–68; Senate 26–5. Signed by Gov. Abbott June 14, 2019.
HB 3956, 88th Legislature (2023) Eff. September 1, 2023. The most expansive amendment yet. Replaced the 25-felony enumerated list in §411.1471(a)(1) with a single phrase — “arrested for any offense punishable as a felony” — making DNA collection mandatory at booking for all felony arrests. Also changed “arresting” to “booking” as the collection trigger and updated expunction procedures. Passed House 130–11; Senate 30–1.
- https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/williamson-county-tests-rapid-dna-140000249.html
- https://www.dps.texas.gov/section/crime-laboratory/faq/texas-dps-rapid-dna-analysis
- Senate Bill 1723, signed by the Governor in June 2025, established a booking station pilot program in two counties (Montgomery and Williamson Counties). This pilot will run for two years beginning on September 1, 2025. The first year will be used for the development of the instrument and IT infrastructure. Then, no later than September 1, 2026, Rapid DNA processing of samples collected from arrestees in the two pilot booking stations will go live. On January 1, 2028, Texas DPS will present to the Texas legislature a report detailing the results of the pilot, and based on the results, the legislature will determine the future of Rapid DNA testing at booking stations.
No program or law found. But See CHI at UNTHSC and Texas AG has Cold Case Unit.
The LODNA Census: Led by the Texas DPS Texas Ranger Division and funded via the federal Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA) Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI), Texas conducted an exhaustive statewide audit (Salinas, 2024).
The Gap Revealed: The audit initially identified over 3,300 Registered Sex Offenders (RSOs) missing from CODIS (Salinas, 2024). When expanded to all historical qualifying offenses between 1995 and 2020, the census revealed a staggering 43,245 individuals in Texas who lawfully owed DNA but had bypassed collection (Salinas, 2024).
Systemic Failures: The barriers identified included a lack of localized tracking systems, a historical failure of court and community supervision staff to verify CODIS status during sentencing/probation intake, and confusion over which agency held the ultimate collection mandate (Pires, 2024).
The Mitigation Sweep: Over a four-year enforcement push, Texas successfully collected thousands of these missing samples, resulting in hundreds of immediate, cold-case CODIS “offender hits” connecting known individuals to unsolved sexual assaults and violent offenses (Salinas, 2024).
The Krystal Jean Baker Act (HB 1399, 2019) authorized arrestee DNA collection for 24 felonies; DPS won FY2019 ($1M) and FY2022 ($1.5M) SAKI grants to census and collect owed samples from ~3,300 registered sex offenders and felons. Texas DPS · SAKI – Texas
- HB 4628 (2023, passed) – mandates that accredited crime laboratories monitor databases for DNA matches and notify the submitting law enforcement agency.