Albany, NY (WIBX) - The DNA Databank bill sponsored by Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi was passed by a wide margin in the State Assembly.

The legislation, calling for an expansion to the current DNA database to include all felonies and most penal law misdemeanors, was passed 135-to-4.

Brindisi says, "an expanded databank will give Mohawk Valley police officers and officials throughout the state the tools they need to solve crimes and get dangerous criminals off our streets."

The legislation also allows those wrongfully convicted of crimes equal access to DNA testing and to the databank.

Since it began in 1998, the databank has played a role in more than 29-hundred convictions.

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