HB 1403 Collect DNA on Arrest moved forward yesterday, July 1 when it passed the NC House Finance Committee. This bill allows DNA to be taken on arrest without probable cause or a warrant to support the search. There were objections to the bill. Some Representatives were concerned that there was no current fiscal note which meant it was unclear whether the state could cover the cost of the new initiative. Others objected to the threat the bill poses to the constitutional rights of North Carolinians. Describing the bill as a significant shift in policy, Representative Luebke of Durham suggested that the bill should be turned into a study. He suggested that there is not significant evidence that collecting DNA on arrest will actually help solve or prevent crimes and he and others were concerned about by-passing the Fourth Amendment without a real benefit. He is most certainly right that the bill should not be fast-tracked in the last week of session without the proper scrutiny it deserves. However, the bill passed the committee overwhelmingly, with only a few dissenting no votes.

In happier news, HB 1682 Students with Disabilities and Corporal Punishment passed on the Senate floor unanimously and now heads to Governor Perdue's desk. This bill gives parents the ability to remove their child with a disability from being subject to corporal punishment - a right that does not currently exist in North Carolina or Federal law.