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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Legislature gave final approval to the "Sherry Black bill," which sets guardrails for police to search optional genetic testing databases for investigations of violent crimes.
Rep. Steve Eliason, R-Sandy, the House sponsor of SB156, presented the bill Wednesday morning, telling colleagues the bill allows genetic test customers to opt in to make their information searchable by police. He said it adds other protections to the technology by preventing law enforcement from making an arrest solely on data obtained by searching a genetic testing database.
The bill is named after Sherry Black, who was killed at her bookstore in South Salt Lake in 2010. Heidi Miller, Black's daughter, spoke in favor of the bill at a Senate committee hearing last month, telling lawmakers it's thanks to genealogy testing that her mother's case was solved — 10 years after her murder.
"You never get your loved one back, but there's a peace that comes with a case being solved that makes it easier to go on," she said.
"Had it not been through this tool, that case would still be unsolved," Eliason said.
Police are already able to search some genetic testing databases that allow their users to opt in, but this bill would limit searches to investigations for violent crimes and excludes those users who don't opt in to provide their genetic information to law enforcement.
Reps. Tyler Clancy, R-Provo, and Matthew Gwynn, R-Farr West, both police officers, said the bill protects individual rights, while still giving law enforcement access to a valuable tool. Although the bill would allow officers to search databases without a warrant, Gwynn noted that there are exceptions for warrants — including when a person gives permission to search.
"It's kind of ironic that a law enforcement officer would rise in support of a bill that restricts law enforcement's ability to use a tool," Clancy said. "However, as someone who wholeheartedly believes in the Bill of Rights in the Constitution, it's important that we protect our privacy. It's important that we protect our individual freedoms enshrined in the Constitution, which is what this bill does."
Clancy said investigative genealogy can be used for more than just convicting suspects, it can be used to exonerate them.
"We need to be fair," he said. "As a law enforcement officer, it does us no good if we swing the pendulum of justice onto this heavy hand where it's only about prosecution. I believe this bill is fair because it also allows for exoneration."
Because DNA evidence can identify people within three generations of the individual who is sampled, opponents of investigative genealogy have argued that it can be used to identify people who don't give their explicit consent, but have a family member who does.
Bill sponsor Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, likened it to fingerprint identification, but with broader results.
Ultimately, SB156 passed the House 46-24 with bipartisan support. It now heads to Gov. Spencer Cox for his signature.
