A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to provide that the state bureau of investigation must do DNA testing and analysis of evidence collected at a rape crime scene if requested by the victim or the investigating local law enforcement agency and that the costs of the tests and analysis shall be borne by the state.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Article 13 of Chapter 15A of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§15A-267.1.  DNA testing and analysis of evidence obtained at rape crime scenes.
(a)	The SBI shall perform DNA testing and analysis on any biological material that is collected from the crime scene of a rape upon the written request of the rape victim or the local law enforcement agency investigating the rape.
(b)	A rape victim who requests a DNA test and analysis of crime scene evidence under this section shall submit the written request to the district attorney in the county in which the crime occurred. The district attorney shall forward the request to the governmental entity that collected the evidence. Upon receipt of the request from the district attorney, the governmental entity shall submit the samples from the evidence obtained from the crime scene to the SBI in accordance with the rules governing this procedure adopted by the SBI.
(c)	A local law enforcement agency that requests a DNA test and analysis of crime scene evidence under this section shall submit the written request directly to the SBI in accordance with the rules governing this procedure adopted by the SBI.
(d)	The State shall bear the costs for the testing and analysis required under this section."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 15A‑268 reads as rewritten:
"§ 15A‑268.  Preservation of samples of biological materials.
(a)	Notwithstanding any other provision of law and subject to subsection (b) of this section, a governmental entity that collects evidence containing DNA in the course of a criminal investigation shall preserve a sample of the evidence collected for the period of time a defendant convicted of a felony is incarcerated in connection with that case. The governmental entity may determine how the evidence is retained pursuant to this section, provided that the evidence is retained in a condition suitable for DNA testing.
(b)	The governmental entity may dispose of the sample of evidence containing DNA preserved pursuant to subsection (a) of this section before the expiration of the period of time described in subsection (a) of this section if all of the following conditions are met:
(1)	The governmental entity sent notice of its intent to dispose of the sample of evidence to the district attorney in the county in which the conviction was obtained.
(2)	The district attorney gave to each of the following persons written notification of the intent of the entity governmental to dispose of the sample of evidence: any defendant convicted of a felony who is currently incarcerated in connection with the case, the current defendant's counsel of record, the Office of Indigent Defense Services, the victim of the crime if the offense was rape, and the Attorney General. The notice shall be consistent with the provisions of this section. The district attorney shall send a copy of the notice to the governmental entity. Delivery of written notification from the district attorney to the defendant was effectuated by the district attorney transmitting the written notification to the superintendent of the correctional facility where the defendant was assigned at the time and the superintendent's personal delivery of the written notification to the defendant. Certification of delivery by the superintendent to the defendant in accordance with this subdivision was in accordance with subsection (c) of this section.
(3)	The written notification from the district attorney specified the following:
a.	That the governmental entity would destroy the sample of evidence collected in connection with the case unless the governmental entity received a written request that the sample of evidence not be destroyed.
b.	The address of the governmental entity where the written request was to be sent.
c.	That the written request must be received by the governmental entity within 90 days of the date of receipt by the defendant of the district attorney's written notification and within 90 days of the date of receipt by the rape victim of the district attorney's written notification when the offense was a rape. 
d.	That the written request must ask that the material not be destroyed or disposed of for one of the following reasons:
1.	The case is currently on appeal.
2.	The case is currently in postconviction proceedings.
3.	The defendant will file within 180 days of the date of receipt by the defendant of the district attorney's written notification a motion for DNA testing pursuant to G.S. 15A‑269, that is followed within 180 days of sending the request that the sample of evidence not be destroyed or disposed of, by a motion for DNA testing pursuant to G.S. 15A‑269, unless a request for extension is requested by the defendant and agreed to by the governmental entity in possession of the evidence.
(4)	The governmental entity did not receive a written request in compliance with the conditions set forth in sub‑subdivision (3)d. of this subsection within 90 days of the date of receipt by the defendant of the district attorney's written notification.
(5)	The governmental entity did not receive a written request in compliance with the conditions set forth in sub-subdivision (3)d. of this subsection within 90 days of the date of receipt by the rape victim of the district attorney's written notification.
(c)	Upon receiving a written notification from a district attorney in accordance with subdivision (b)(3) of this section, the superintendent shall personally deliver the written notification to the defendant. Upon effectuating personal delivery on the defendant, the superintendent shall sign a sworn written certification that the written notification had been delivered to the defendant in compliance with this subsection indicating the date the delivery was made. The superintendent's certification shall be sent by the superintendent to the governmental entity that intends to dispose of the sample of evidence. The governmental entity may rely on the superintendent's certification as evidence of the date of receipt by the defendant of the district attorney's written notification. 
(d)	The district attorney shall send a rape victim the notice required under this section by certified mail. The return receipt shall be sent by the district attorney to the governmental entity that intends to dispose of the sample of evidence. The governmental entity may rely on the receipt as evidence of the date of receipt by the rape victim." 
SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective December 1, 2002, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.