Forensic Science Tracker
Changes to the state laws that oversee forensic science, from crime lab accreditation and analyst licensing to DNA databases and facial recognition, dated and tied to the official source. This first edition covers Michigan, New York, Texas, and Virginia from 2023 through October 2026; more states will be added.
By state
| State | Oversight body | Lab accreditation required by statute | Analyst licensing | Changed-science relief statute | Changes since 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | None | No statute found | None | No; limited post-conviction DNA testing (MCL 770.16) | 2 |
| New York | Commission on Forensic Science and its DNA Subcommittee | Yes (Executive Law 995-b) | None | No | 2, both outside the oversight statute |
| Texas | Texas Forensic Science Commission | Yes, with listed exclusions (Code of Criminal Procedure art. 38.35) | Required since 2019 | Yes (art. 11.073) | 11 |
| Virginia | No independent commission; a Forensic Science Board and Scientific Advisory Committee | No general mandate found | None | No; writs of actual innocence | 6 |
Latest changes
Michigan budget bars revenue-sharing money for facial recognition
Public safety revenue-sharing distributions to local governments may not be used to acquire or use facial recognition technology, a limit first set in the October 2025 budget and renewed for fiscal 2026–27.
Virginia’s facial recognition law expires
No extension was enacted, so local and campus police may not buy or use facial recognition unless a statute expressly authorizes it.
Texas Commission rule changes
The Commission voted in 2025 to make rapid DNA analysis its own accreditation discipline, among other Commission rule votes from 2024 to 2026.
Texas authorizes rapid DNA by law enforcement agencies
The DPS director may authorize agencies to run rapid DNA on specimens from arrestees and registrants. The pilot expires September 1, 2028.
New York: sealed convictions do not remove DNA
The Clean Slate Act’s automatic sealing does not require removing DNA records from the state databank.
New York’s top court upholds familial DNA searching
Matter of Stevens held that the DNA Databank Act gave the Commission and its DNA Subcommittee authority to adopt the familial search rules.
Texas Commission may discipline crime labs
The Forensic Science Commission can now sanction labs, not only individual license holders.
Texas takes DNA at every felony arrest
Applies to offenses on or after September 1, 2023.
How this tracker works
Each state page went through three separate passes before it was published: research from official sources, an independent check of every claim, and a sentence-by-sentence fact-check of the finished page. Sources are the legislature’s statutes and session laws, the state register and administrative code, court opinions and rules, and the oversight body’s own site. Where an official source could not be reached, the page says so and gives the date of the attempt.
A change is dated by when it took effect. Report an error or a change to contact@uscli.org with a link to the official source.
The Forensic Science Tracker is general information, not legal advice. USCLI is not a government agency and does not accredit laboratories or certify analysts.
Last updated October 19, 2026Source: United States Council for Law & InvestigationCite as: United States Council for Law & Investigation, “Forensic Science Tracker,” uscli.org/forensic-science-tracker (last updated October 19, 2026). Text licensed CC BY 4.0.