House Bill 4628 was passed by the 88th Texas Legislature and establishes clear communication requirements between law enforcement and forensics labs.
The bill went into effect Sept. 1, and requires crime labs to notify a law enforcement agency within 30 days when they obtain a match from DNA or other forensic evidence. Within five business days of this first notification, the police agency must notify the crime lab that the first notification was received. The police must then follow up within 30 days, certifying to the crime lab that they have attempted to follow the lead, including attempts to get a new DNA sample from a suspect.