New Mexico Senate amends ‘Katie’s Law’ expansion

The Senate amended another of Gov. Susana Martinez’s legislative priorities on Saturday, this time a law that would have required all those arrested for felonies to have their DNA put into a crime database. The amending of the expansion of an already existing law, known was “Katie’s Law,” shows another rift between the governor’s desires and that of the state Senate.

The current law allows police to take DNA from all those arrested for violent felonies. A version of the legislation already passed in the House, which has not yet been heard by the Senate, would have extended this to those arrested for all felonies.

The Senate, however, amended the bill on the floor to require probable cause from the police in order to take DNA from potential felons. The second amendment to the bill by the Senate would expunge the arrest record of those found not guilty.

Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen, said the Senate’s version of the legislation strengthens the law.

“Law enforcement officials will continue to utilize DNA technology in investigating felonies,” Sanchez said in a statement. “They will continue to have access to DNA evidence and will continue to convict those persons found guilty of the crimes for which the evidence supports a finding of guilt”

Martinez disagreed and called for a “clean” version of the legislation to pass.

“The bill passed by the Senate this evening would not only fail to give law enforcement expanded tools to catch and convict criminals, it would strip them of the tools provided by the original version of Katie’s Law that they have been using for years,” Martinez said. “A clean version of the bill that has already passed the House is absolutely necessary as we work to make New Mexico’s communities safer.”

Critics of Katie’s Law and similar laws across the country claim that it is in conflict with the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Proponents of the law say it’s necessary and puts criminals behind bars.

As the Santa Fe New Mexican’s Steve Terrell wrote in a column Friday, before the Katie’s Law expansion hit the Senate floor, it is the latest bout in the long history of disagreement between the governor and the Senate — no matter who is governor.

Bad vibes. Veto threats. A counterpunch from a Senate leader, who says the governor is just playing politics.