File No. 601

House of Representatives, April 26, 2007

The Committee on Judiciary reported through REP. LAWLOR of the 99th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the House, that the bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR PROSECUTION OF CERTAIN SEXUAL ASSAULT OFFENSES USING DNA EVIDENCE.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 54-193b of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2007):

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 54-193 and 54-193a, there shall be no limitation of time within which a person may be prosecuted for a violation of section 53a-70, 53a-70a, 53a-70b, 53a-71, 53a-72a or 53a-72b, [not later than twenty years from the date of the commission of the offense,] provided (1) the victim notified any police officer or state's attorney acting in such police officer's or state's attorney's official capacity of the commission of the offense not later than five years after the commission of the offense, and (2) the identity of the person who allegedly committed the offense has been established through a DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) profile comparison using evidence collected at the time of the commission of the offense.

The following fiscal impact statement and bill analysis are prepared for the benefit of members of the General Assembly, solely for the purpose of information, summarization, and explanation, and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose:

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact:

Note: GF=General Fund

Municipal Impact: None

Explanation

The bill eliminates the statute of limitations for certain offenses provided that the perpetrator is identified by DNA and the victim notified the police or a prosecutor of the offense within five years of its commission. Since few such cases are anticipated, any marginal cost to state agencies under the bill is estimated to be minimal.

The Out Years

The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to inflation.



OLR Bill Analysis

HB 7085

AN ACT CONCERNING THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR PROSECUTION OF CERTAIN SEXUAL ASSAULT OFFENSES USING DNA EVIDENCE.

SUMMARY:

This bill allows violators of the six most serious sexual assault crimes to be prosecuted at any time, rather than within 20 years after the crime, if the perpetrator is identified by DNA and the victim notified the police or a prosecutor of the offense within five years of its commission.

The provision applies to first-degree sexual assault, aggravated first-degree sexual assault, sexual assault in a spousal or cohabiting relationship, second-degree sexual assault, and third-degree sexual assault, with or without a firearm.

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2007

COMMITTEE ACTION

Judiciary Committee

Joint Favorable