H157 would order the collection of a DNA sample from any person who is convicted of, or pleads guilty to, any “serious crime,” including certain misdemeanors.

The House rejected H157 on March 7, 2025, by a vote of 34 to 34. We have assigned pluses to the nays because this bill changes the definition of “serious crimes” from felonies to misdemeanors, even in cases of “withheld judgment” and regardless of “the sentence imposed or disposition rendered.” Moreover, the requirement to provide a DNA sample would also be retroactive, applying to those who are currently imprisoned or confined. Since many misdemeanor convictions are the result of negotiated plea deals, this legislation would effectively ignore those agreements, amounting to an even greater undue expansion of the statewide DNA database system and the dangerous threat it poses to individual privacy. Lawmakers should support, not undermine the 4th, 5th, and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.