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An Act To Establish the Forensic Advisory Committee
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  5 MRSA §12004-I, sub-§74-H  is enacted to read:
 
74-H.   
Sec. 2.  22 MRSA §3036  is enacted to read:
§ 3036. Forensic Advisory Committee
 
1.  Appointment; composition; term; compensation.     The Forensic Advisory Committee, established under Title 5, section 12004-I, subsection 74-H and referred to in this section as "the committee," consists of 5 members. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court shall appoint as chair a justice that sits on the Superior Court. The chair shall appoint the other committee members, including:
 
A.  A prosecutor with expertise in forensic science from the Office of the Attorney General or a prosecutorial district under Title 30-A, section 254;
 
B.  A criminal defense attorney with expertise in forensic science;
 
C.  A physician who specializes in clinical laboratory medicine, to be chosen from a list of nominees provided by the Commissioner of Health and Human Services; and
 
D.  An academic research scientist with a doctorate in biological sciences, to be chosen from a list of nominees provided by the Chancellor of the University of Maine System.
 
Members are appointed for a term of 4 years. A vacancy must be filled in the same manner as the position was originally filled for the unexpired portion of the term. A member may be reappointed for additional terms. Appointed members serve until their successors are appointed. Members serve without compensation.
 
2.  Meetings; reports.     The committee shall meet at least 4 times a year and convene special meetings at the call of the chair, a majority of the members of the committee or the Attorney General. By January 1st of each year, the committee shall make a report to the Attorney General and to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over criminal justice and public safety matters that includes any recommendations and an account of all actions performed over the previous year to carry out the duties under subsection 4.
 
3.  Staff.     The Attorney General shall appoint an attorney from the Office of the Attorney General to serve as executive director of the committee. The Office of the Attorney General shall provide staff for administrative and investigative assistance to the committee.
 
4.  Duties.     The committee shall:
 
A.  Review operations at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the Maine State Police Crime Laboratory and the forensic chemistry section of the Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory and make recommendations to the Attorney General, Commissioner of Public Safety and Commissioner of Health and Human Services for each laboratory concerning:
 
(1) The quality and timeliness of service provided to state agencies and other users;
 
(2) Accreditation of the laboratory and qualification standards for a scientist working in the laboratory;
 
(3) Blind proficiency testing for a scientist working in the laboratory; and
 
(4) Internal oversight of the laboratory;
 
B.  Review the operation of a laboratory under paragraph A when there has been an allegation of:
 
(1) Serious negligence or misconduct; or
 
(2) Misidentification of evidence or another testing error made during the examination of evidence;
 
C.  Upon request of the Governor, Attorney General, Commissioner of Public Safety or Commissioner of Health and Human Services, review the analytical work, reports or conclusions of personnel of a laboratory under paragraph A; and
 
D.  Review and make recommendations to the Attorney General, Commissioner of Public Safety or Commissioner of Health and Human Services concerning:
 
(1) Resources to enhance the mission of a laboratory under paragraph A;
 
(2) New scientific programs of, protocols for, instrumentation for or methods of forensic testing; or
 
(3) Relevant informational material for laboratory personnel, attorneys or judges.
 
5.  Recommendations by Attorney General.     The Attorney General shall review the annual report under subsection 2 and provide recommendations and suggested legislation to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over criminal justice and public safety matters based on the report. The joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over criminal justice and public safety matters may report out a bill based upon the recommendations and suggested legislation.
Sec. 3. Forensic Advisory Committee initial terms. Notwithstanding the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 22, section 3036, subsection 1, of the initial members of the Forensic Advisory Committee, 2 members serve for 2 years, 2 members serve for 3 years and the chair serves for 4 years.
 
SUMMARY
This bill creates the Forensic Advisory Committee, which reports to the Attorney General, to review and make recommendations about the operations of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the Maine State Police Crime Laboratory and the forensic chemistry section of the Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory. The committee is also required to review the conduct of personnel, errors in testing and new programs of, protocols for and methods of forensic testing.