Iowans convicted a second time of drunken driving would be required to submit a DNA sample under legislation that has won approval in the Iowa Senate.
The bill calls for adding a long list of aggravated misdemeanors, including second offense drunk driving, to the list of convicts required to have their mouths swabbed to collect DNA. Senator Steve Sodders, a Democrat from State Center, says it’s an attempt to match DNA collection strategies with other states.
“A lot of our aggravated misdemeanors here in Iowa are actually felonies in other states,” Sodders says.
A “swab kit” to collect DNA sample costs $30. The bill must also clear the House and be signed by the governor before it would become law. If it were in effect this year, over 5000 more DNA samples would have been collected from people convicted in Iowa of aggravated misdemeanors.