# New York

No law changed New York’s forensic oversight statute, Executive Law article 49-B, from 2023 through October 2026. The changes came from the Court of Appeals, which upheld familial DNA searching in 2023, and from the Clean Slate Act, which keeps DNA records of people with sealed convictions in the state databank.

Source: https://uscli.org/forensic-science-tracker/new-york

## At a glance

- **Oversight body:** The Commission on Forensic Science, 14 members chaired by the commissioner of the Division of Criminal Justice Services, and its DNA Subcommittee of 7 members ([Executive Law 995-a](https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/EXC/995-A), [995-b](https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/EXC/995-B)). The Division’s Office of Forensic Services oversees lab accreditation and manages the DNA Databank.
- **Lab accreditation:** Required. The Commission must set minimum standards and an accreditation program for “all forensic laboratories in New York state,” and the DNA Subcommittee’s recommendations bind DNA lab accreditation (Executive Law 995-b(1), (2-a)). The program must allow revocation for misrepresentation, excessive errors, or material violations (995-b(3)). A lab director who knowingly operates without required accreditation faces a civil penalty of up to $7,500 (995-b(4)). State agency pages describe the mandate as covering public forensic labs; this page relies on the statute’s wording.
- **Analyst licensing:** None. The Commission sets qualifications for lab directors and staff as part of accreditation (995-b(1)).
- **Admissibility standard:** Frye general acceptance: People v. Wesley, 83 N.Y.2d 417 (1994), applied in [People v. Williams, 35 N.Y.3d 24 (2020)](https://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2020/2020_02123.htm), decided March 31, 2020.
- **Post-conviction forensic relief:** No changed-science statute. Relief rests on newly discovered evidence ([CPL 440.10(1)(g)](https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CPL/440.10)), results of post-judgment forensic DNA testing (440.10(1)(g-1)), and motions for DNA testing (CPL 440.30(1-a)).
- **Familial DNA search:** Authorized by regulation, 9 NYCRR Part 6192, and upheld by the Court of Appeals in 2023 (see below).

## Changes, 2023 to 2026

- Nov 16, 2024 — **Sealed convictions do not remove DNA from the databank** — Chapter 631 of the Laws of 2023 (Clean Slate Act) · Signed November 16, 2023; effective November 16, 2024 — The Clean Slate Act added CPL 160.57, which automatically seals eligible convictions after set waiting periods. It states that nothing in the section requires sealing or destroying DNA information kept in the state DNA databank under Executive Law article 49-B for a person whose conviction is sealed. — **For practitioners:** A databank hit can still involve a person whose conviction has been sealed. — [CPL 160.57](https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CPL/160.57)[A1029-C](https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?default_fld=&bn=A01029&term=2023&Summary=Y&Actions=Y&Text=Y)
- Oct 24, 2023 — **Court of Appeals upholds familial DNA searching** — Matter of Stevens v New York State Div. of Criminal Justice Servs., 40 N.Y.3d 505 · Decided October 24, 2023 — Reversed the Appellate Division and dismissed the challenge, holding that the DNA Databank Act gave the Commission on Forensic Science and its DNA Subcommittee authority to adopt the familial DNA search regulations in 9 NYCRR 6192.1 and 6192.3. — **For practitioners:** Familial search leads under Part 6192 rest on regulations the State’s highest court has upheld. — [Stevens, 2023 NY Slip Op 05351](https://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2023/2023_05351.htm)

## Pending bills

These bills were in Senate committee as of October 19, 2026. Bills not passed by the end of the 2025–2026 term, December 31, 2026, die.

- **S1274 / A3969:** would reform the Commission on Forensic Science, updating its membership, powers, and procedures, and create a scientific advisory committee, a social justice, ethics, and equity assessment committee, and a forensic analyst license advisory committee. [S1274](https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S1274)
- **S5806 / A5518:** would prohibit using the state DNA identification index for familial DNA searches. [S5806](https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S5806)

## Checked and unchanged

- Executive Law 995-a to 995-f, covering the Commission, accreditation, the DNA index, confidentiality, and penalties, show no revision after 2014. CPL 440.10 was last revised in 2022 and CPL 440.30 in 2020.
- CPL 245.20(1)(j), which requires prosecutors to disclose lab records including findings of nonconformance with accreditation standards or lab protocols, was not changed by the two 2025 revisions of section 245.20 (May 16 and August 8, 2025); its wording predates 2023. CPL 245.55 was last revised in 2020.
- No statute or regulation on forensic investigative genetic genealogy was found. Regulation changes by the Commission or DNA Subcommittee from 2023 to 2026 could not be checked from official sources on October 19, 2026.
- Not counted as oversight changes: a 2025 law, amended by Chapter 9 of the Laws of 2026, requiring continuing education for coroners under rules made in consultation with the Commission’s chair; and Public Health Law 2805-i amendments on sexual offense evidence tracking and retention (chapters 31 of 2023, 646 of 2025, and 47 and 125 of 2026), whose effective dates could not be resolved from official sources on October 19, 2026.