Utah

Recent / Pending Legislation

• SB 0156 (2023, passed) – Set rules on how law enforcement must interact with consumer genetic companies. It restricts surrogate or third-party DNA collection, limits arrests based on solely on genetic database matches, and mandates annual public reporting on state’s use of FGG.
• SB 0218 (2024, died) – Requires explicit consent in FGG for 23andme and others before disclosing to law enforcement.

Arrestees: Yes, from adults and minors age 14 and older. Not Booking Station Rapid Ready, probable cause/charges required.

Qualifying Crimes: Any felony arrest; registrants on the sex, kidnap, and child abuse offender registries are also covered (§ 53-10-404(2)(a)).

Time of Collection: At booking — but the sample may not be processed until after a probable cause hearing or an indictment.

Expungement: Where all charges are dismissed or the person is acquitted, the person may file a motion for a court order requiring destruction of the sample and associated records, which the Department of Public Safety then carries out. Where no criminal charges are filed within 90 days after booking for the alleged offense, the bureau must destroy the DNA specimen.

Statutes / Case Law

U.C.A. § 53–10–403, DNA SPECIMEN ANALYSIS—APPLICATION TO OFFENDERS, INCLUDING MINORS

§53–10–404, DNA SPECIMEN ANALYSIS—REQUIREMENT TO OBTAIN THE SPECIMEN

§ 53–10–404.5, OBTAINING DNA SPECIMEN AT TIME OF BOOKING—PAYMENT OF FEE UPON CONVICTION

§ 53–10–406, DNA SPECIMEN ANALYSIS—BUREAU RESPONSIBILITIES

Convicted Offenders: Yes – adults and minors age 14 and older

Qualifying Crimes: Felonies and Class A misdemeanors — including where the court enters judgment for conviction at a lower degree of offense or allows a plea in abeyance. Registered sex offenders must also provide samples, and a person who commits a qualifying offense in another state or against the federal government must submit a sample in Utah as well. Section 53-10-403 & Section 53-10-404

Time of Collection: “As soon as possible” after conviction, or after a finding of jurisdiction by the juvenile court.

Expungement: The person may file a motion asking the court to order destruction of the sample and record where a final judgment reverses the conviction, judgment, or order that created the obligation to provide the sample; the Department of Public Safety then destroys them.

Statutes / Case Law

U.C.A. 1953 § 53–10–403. DNA Specimen Analysis—Application to Offenders, Including Minors; U.C.A. 1953 § 53–10–404. DNA Specimen Analysis—Requirement to Obtain the Specimen;

U.C.A. 1953 § 53–10–404.5. Obtaining DNA Specimen at Time of Booking—Payment of Fee upon Conviction

U.C.A. 1953 § 53–10–406. DNA Specimen Analysis—Bureau Responsibilities

State v. Evans, 449 P.3d 958 (Aug. 22, 2019) (force used by investigators to obtain DNA from suspect by swabbing his cheek while carrying out validly issued search warrant during investigation of suspect for murder did not violate suspect’s Fourth Amendment right; mere possibility that defendant’s DNA may have already been collected and maintained by Bureau of Forensics insufficient to counter state’s stated need to collect DNA).

Legislative History

• Laws of Utah 1994, ch. 275 — original enactment. Bill number not yet confirmed; archives request pending. Enacted §§ 53-5-212.1 through 53-5-212.4, later renumbered to §§ 53-10-403 through 53-10-406. Required a blood samplefrom persons convicted of enumerated sex offenses or murder and aggravated murder, and from anyone added to the sex offender register under § 77-27-21.5, with the court ordering the draw in the judgment and requiring reimbursement unless the person was unable to pay. Specified who could draw samples, granted collectors civil immunity, and excused collection where an adequate sample was already held or drawing posed a substantial health risk. Directed DPS to store samples, establish genetic profiles, and maintain a criminal identification database.
• HB 169 (1998 General Session) → Laws of Utah 1998, ch. 263, “Public Safety Amendments.” Reorganized the Division of Criminal Investigations and Technical Services and created bureaus within it. Renumbered §§ 53-5-212.1 through 53-5-212.4 as §§ 53-10-403 through 53-10-406 and substituted “the bureau” for “Department of Public Safety” in the analysis and database responsibilities. This renumbering is what makes the 1994 act hard to trace forward.
• HB 154, 1st Substitute (2002 General Session), effective July 1, 2002. The modern rewrite. Replaced the enumerated offense list at § 53-10-403 with any felony under Title 76, sexual abuse of a minor, attempted or class A burglary, and any such offense reduced under § 76-3-402 or resolved by plea in abeyance, and extended collection to minors 14 or older adjudicated for a qualifying offense. Added saliva as an acceptable specimen alongside blood and enacted a definitions section at § 53-10-403.5. Subordinated the collection fee to victim restitution, created the DNA Specimen Restricted Account, and set a phased Corrections collection schedule running to July 1, 2004 for persons already in custody.
• HB 107 (2003 General Session), “DNA Amendments,” effective July 1, 2003. Specified that offenders incarcerated or on parole in Utah for an applicable offense committed outside the state must also provide a specimen, and clarified which offenders the county sheriff collects from. Changed DNA specimen records from private to protectedinformation under the records statute. Required fingerprints of juveniles who commit an offense for which a DNA specimen is required, amending § 78-3a-904, and made technical amendments to the collection process.
• HB 212 (2006 General Session), “DNA Database Amendments.” Required all persons convicted of a class A misdemeanor to provide a specimen, rather than only those convicted of class A misdemeanor attempted burglary or sexual abuse of a minor. Increased the offender fee for collecting and processing felony and class A misdemeanor saliva specimens from $75 to $100, and raised the county sheriff’s share from $15 to $20 to reflect the increase.
• SB 277 (2010 General Session), “DNA Modifications,” effective January 1, 2011. Utah’s arrestee-collection act, and the one that built the surrounding safeguards. It required a county sheriff booking a person for any violent crime to obtain a specimen if one is not already on file, raised the fee for all required specimens from $100 to $150 with $25 to the collecting agency and $125 to DPS, and made the booked person liable for the fee only on conviction of the charge. Critically, it barred processing a booking specimen until the person is bound over for trial, waives a preliminary hearing, or is indicted; required the department to destroy a specimen if charges are not filed within 90 days of booking; and permitted analysis where the person is convicted of any charge arising from the same criminal episode. It also limited analysis to DNA markers used for forensic purposes in establishing gender and unique identification, required analysis consistent with and not exceeding FBI forensic procedures, authorized courts ordering destruction on dismissal or acquittal to advise on expungement, and created criminal penalties for possessing or disclosing individually identifiable DNA analysis information and for failing to destroy a specimen.
• HB 170 (2013 General Session), “Deoxyribonucleic Acid Collection and Retention Amendments.” Amended § 53-10-403 to add specified felony offenses to the list for which DNA is collected at booking, supplementing the “any violent felony” trigger from 2010 with named offenses including assault against a peace officer, felony unlawful sexual activity with a minor, sexual abuse of a minor, unlawful sexual contact with a 16 or 17 year old, and a range of Title 76 chapter 10 offenses. The January 1, 2011 applicability date from SB 277 remains embedded in the section text.
• HB 212 (2014 General Session), “DNA Collection Amendments,” effective May 13, 2014. Provided that agencies may collect at booking for any person arrested for any felony offense from May 13 through December 31, 2014, and that on and after January 1, 2015 agencies shall do so. Amended §§ 53-10-403, 53-10-404 and 53-10-404.5, completing the move from an enumerated booking list to universal felony arrest collection.
• SB 247 (2020 General Session), “DNA Processing Amendments.” Authorized the Bureau of Forensic Services to permit testing and analysis at locations other than the state lab and set standards for Rapid DNA in a new § 53-10-403.6 — permitting its use on booking specimens and for non-CODIS investigative comparison where a second specimen goes to an NDIS-participating laboratory, with a touch-DNA exception, and otherwise restricting it to the bureau operating under FBI Quality Assurance Standards. Enacted § 67-5-1.2 allowing the attorney general to assist a local investigation only on request of the local agency or the county or district attorney, including Rapid DNA assistance. Also expanded the § 53-10-403.5 definitions to add CODIS and to broaden “DNA specimen” to include samples from a crime scene or collected as part of an investigation.

• No program or law identified.
• Local database operated by Utah Attorney General’s Office, outside of crime laboratory and CODIS or State Database searches.
• 2018 video from AG office using Rapid DNA for evidence collection
• 2018 AG article – https://attorneygeneral.utah.gov/rapid-dna/

• No program identified, but recent legislation establishing FGG framework.
  • SB 0156 (2023, passed) – Set rules on how law enforcement must interact with consumer genetic companies. It restricts surrogate or third-party DNA collection, limits arrests based on solely on genetic database matches, and mandates annual public reporting on state’s use of FGG.
• Utah Genetic Information Privacy Act – Need consent or valid legal process in order to law enforcement to use DNA

No program or law identified.

No program or law identified.