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SB214 • 2025

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO BIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE.

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO BIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE.

Crime
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Last action
2026-06-04
Official status
Substituted in Senate by SS 1 for SB 214
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO BIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE.

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO BIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE.

What This Bill Does

  • AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO BIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE.
  • This Act requires the State to preserve all biological evidence in its custody that is secured in relation to an investigation or prosecution of a crime, for the period of time that the crime remains unsolved or the period of time that a person convicted of the crime remains in custody, regardless of whether the person pleaded guilty.
  • “Biological evidence” in this context includes any item that may contain identifiable biological material that was collected as part of a criminal investigation or that may reasonably be used to incriminate or exculpate a person.
  • The State may destroy evidence that may contain biological material before the expiration of those time periods if all of the following are true: (1) more than 5 years have elapsed since the criminal conviction became final and all appeals are exhausted; (2) the evidence is not in relation to an investigation or prosecution of a Class A to Class E felony; (3) no other provision of federal or state law requires the State to pr

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-06-04 Delaware General Assembly

    Substituted in Senate by SS 1 for SB 214

  2. 2026-05-19 Delaware General Assembly

    Amendment SA 1 to SB 214 - Introduced and Placed With Bill

  3. 2026-01-29 Delaware General Assembly

    Reported Out of Committee (Corrections & Public Safety) in Senate with 1 Favorable, 3 On Its Merits

  4. 2026-01-08 Delaware General Assembly

    Introduced and Assigned to Corrections & Public Safety Committee in Senate

Official Summary Text

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO BIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE.
This Act requires the State to preserve all biological evidence in its custody that is secured in relation to an investigation or prosecution of a crime, for the period of time that the crime remains unsolved or the period of time that a person convicted of the crime remains in custody, regardless of whether the person pleaded guilty. “Biological evidence” in this context includes any item that may contain identifiable biological material that was collected as part of a criminal investigation or that may reasonably be used to incriminate or exculpate a person.

The State may destroy evidence that may contain biological material before the expiration of those time periods if all of the following are true: (1) more than 5 years have elapsed since the criminal conviction became final and all appeals are exhausted; (2) the evidence is not in relation to an investigation or prosecution of a Class A to Class E felony; (3) no other provision of federal or state law requires the State to pr