Laboratory created.

There is hereby created under the control, direction, and supervision of the commissioner of public safety a state criminalistics laboratory. The commissioner of public safety may assign the criminalistics laboratory to a division or bureau within the public safety department. The laboratory shall, within its capabilities, conduct analyses, comparative studies, fingerprint identification, firearms identification, questioned documents studies, and other studies normally performed by a criminalistics laboratory when requested by a county attorney, medical examiner, or law enforcement agency of this state to aid in any criminal investigation. Agents of the division of criminal investigation may be assigned to the criminalistics laboratory by the commissioner. New employees shall be appointed pursuant to chapter 8A, subchapter IV, and need not qualify as agents for the division of criminal investigation and shall not participate in the peace officers’ retirement plan established pursuant to chapter 97A.

[C71, 73, 75, 77, §749A.1; C79, 81, §691.1]2003 Acts, ch 145, §276; 2005 Acts, ch 35, §31