Connecticut General Statutes 54-102m – DNA Data Bank Oversight Panel
(a) There is established a DNA Data Bank Oversight Panel composed of the Chief State’s Attorney, the Attorney General, the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection, the Commissioner of Correction, the executive director of the Court Support Services Division of the Judicial Department and the Chief Public Defender, or their designees. The Chief State’s Attorney shall serve as chairperson of the panel and shall coordinate the agencies responsible for the implementation and maintenance of the DNA data bank established pursuant to § 54-102j.
Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 54-102m
- Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. Source: OCC
- Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
- Public defender: Represent defendants who can't afford an attorney in criminal matters.
(b) The panel shall take such action as necessary to assure the integrity of the data bank including the destruction of inappropriately obtained samples and the purging of all records and identifiable information pertaining to the persons from whom such inappropriately obtained samples were collected.
(c) The panel shall meet on a quarterly basis and shall maintain records of its meetings. Such records shall be retained by the chairperson. The meetings and records of the panel shall be subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, as defined in § 1-200, except that discussions and records of personally identifiable DNA information contained in the data bank shall be confidential and not subject to disclosure pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act. The Chief Public Defender, or the Chief Public Defender’s designee, shall not participate in discussions concerning, or have access to records of, personally identifiable DNA information contained in the data bank.