Cold case database and investigations.

24LSO-0047

ORIGINAL House

Bill No
.
HB0029

ENROLLED ACT NO. 47,

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SIXTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2024 Budget Session

AN ACT relating to the attorney general; requiring the division of criminal investigation to develop and maintain a cold case database; requiring law enforcement agencies in the state to provide cold case information to the division as specified; requiring rulemaking; requiring a report; authorizing funds for cold case investigations; providing an appropriation; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1
.

W.S. 9
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1
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624(a) by creating a new paragraph (vii) and (b) is amended to read:

9
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1
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624.

Division of criminal investigation; uniform procedures and forms for collecting and disseminating identification data; missing persons repository; annual crime statistics report; cold case database; agencies to cooperate.

(a)

The division shall:

(vii)

Develop and maintain a cold case database, subject to the following:

(A)

As used in this section, "cold case" means a homicide or felony sexual offense that remains unsolved for two (2) years or more after being reported to a law enforcement agency;

(B)

The division shall adopt rules specifying the information for each cold case that shall be collected from law enforcement agencies in the state and maintained in the database;

(C)

Each law enforcement agency in the state that has a cold case committed or reported on or after January 1, 1972 shall provide to the division the information specified by rule of the division for inclusion in the database.

(b)

All law enforcement agencies within the state shall cooperate with the division in establishing and maintaining an efficient and coordinated system of identification and in reporting missing persons
and cold case
information to the division.

Section 2
.

(a)

The office of the attorney general shall promulgate all rules necessary to implement the provisions of this act.

(b)

Not later than October 15, 2024, the office of the attorney general shall report to the joint judiciary interim committee on the status of the cold case database, including the development, operation, maintenance and information collection of the database.

Section 3.

(a)

There is appropriated one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000.00) from the general fund to the office of the attorney general for the period beginning with the effective date of this act and ending June 30, 2026 to be expended only for the purposes as specified in subsection (b) of this section.

(b)

The appropriation under subsection (a) of this section shall be expended in accordance with the following:

(i)

This appropriation shall first be expended to develop a cold case database pursuant to section 1 of this act;

(ii)

Upon completion of the development of the cold case database, any unexpended, unobligated funds remaining from this appropriation shall be expended to investigate cold cases, as defined by section 1 of this act.

(c)

This appropriation shall not be transferred or expended for any other purpose and any unexpended, unobligated funds remaining from this appropriation shall revert as provided by law on June 30, 2026. It is the intent of the legislature that the office of the attorney general include the portion of this appropriation that is necessary for maintenance of the cold case database in the office's standard budget request for the immediately succeeding fiscal biennium.

Section 4
.

This act is effective July 1, 2024.

(END)

Speaker of the House

President of the Senate

Governor

TIME APPROVED: _________

DATE APPROVED: _________

I hereby certify that this act originated in the House.

Chief Clerk

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