Legislative Briefly

Bill would expand felons' access to DNA testing

A bill introduced in the Assembly Monday would give all convicted felons the right to petition for DNA testing of evidence to try to clear themselves.

The plan was proposed by the Commission on the Administration of Justice.

Under current law, felons sentenced to death can petition for DNA tests to try to prove their innocence if the evidence has not been tested already or the method of testing wasn't advanced enough to resolve the issue.

AB179 would expand that to all felons and allow the testing if previous results of a DNA test were inconclusive, the type of analysis is different or the requested analysis would provide more accurate evidence.

The testing would be available to those convicted of a crime before and after passage of this law.

The bill was referred to the Committee on Corrections, Parole and Probation.

Senate looks at uniform law governing wills

The Senate is studying a proposal that would enact the Uniform International Wills Act in Nevada.

The purpose of that act is to provide a uniform method of executing a will that would be valid in all states as well as all countries that joined the international convention where the act was developed.

It sets out the form and rules for making a will that meets those standards.

SB141 was referred to the Committee on Judiciary.