H.R. 7916 — CODIS Access Modernization Act

This section states congressional findings that (1) public forensic laboratories face DNA testing backlogs and technology implementation challenges that delay identification of violent offenders (e.g., rapists and murderers); (2) accredited private forensic DNA laboratories, meeting FBI Quality Assurance Standards and ISO/IEC 17025 requirements, are barred from direct uploads to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), causing redundant reviews and delays of days to years; and (3) granting such private laboratories direct CODIS upload authority under safeguards would expand capacity, accelerate investigative leads and case resolutions, reduce public lab burdens, prevent future crimes, and align with federal precedents for private-sector support in law enforcement and national security functions (e.g., costs of unsolved crimes estimated at $122,000 per rape and $1.4 million per murder).

This section authorizes eligible privately owned and operated forensic DNA testing laboratories to directly upload qualifying DNA profiles—those meeting FBI standards for entry into the National DNA Index System (NDIS)—to NDIS, the FBI database of DNA identification records from convicted persons and arrestees, crime scenes, unidentified human remains, and relatives of missing persons. To be eligible, a laboratory must (1) have been accredited for at least five consecutive years to ISO/IEC 17025 standards by a nationally recognized nonprofit professional association in forensic science; (2) undergo external audits every two years demonstrating compliance with FBI quality assurance standards; (3) comply with federal limited access requirements for DNA samples and records and with the NDIS Memorandum of Understanding and Operational Procedures Manual; and (4) not be owned or managed by a governmental organization. The Department of Justice and FBI must issue implementing regulations within six months of enactment, including eligibility criteria, upload procedures, and security safeguards; private laboratories' access is limited to uploads and does not include searching, querying, or retrieving NDIS information.

This section directs the Attorney General, in consultation with the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to make conforming amendments to regulations, policies, and procedures—including updates to the National DNA Index System (NDIS) Memorandum of Understanding and NDIS Operational Procedures Manual—as necessary to carry out this Act.