Published: 2:00 AM - 03/03/12

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's plan to require DNA samples from people convicted of a broader range of offenses is a little closer to becoming law.

The state Senate has passed S 5560-A, a bill which mandates that people convicted of a felony under any New York law or any Penal Law misdemeanor (Class A and Class B) submit a DNA sample for the state databank.

The law wouldn't include youthful offenders or juvenile cases handled in Family Court. The estimated cost is $700,000 in 2012-2013 and $1.4 million annually.

The bill, which would expand the current requirement to collect DNA samples from people convicted of Penal Law felonies and any of 36 specified misdemeanors, must still pass in the Assembly.

Supporters of the measure as of this week that includes all 62 district attorneys, all 58 county sheriffs and more than 400 police chiefs as well as crime victim advocates note that DNA collected at crime scenes since New York's database started in 1999 has contributed to almost 2,900 convictions, as well as to the exonerations of 27 innocent people.

Crime survivors who've already gotten justice because of the DNA databank have spoken out for Cuomo's proposal, sharing heart-wrenching stories.

They include a mother whose 12-year-old daughter was raped in her bed by a stranger who broke into the family's home. The man went on to rape others, and was only caught a decade later, after he stole money from an employer and was required to give a DNA sample for the resulting petty larceny conviction.

The stats for petty larceny, added to DNA offenses in 2006, are worth noting: DNA samples from petty larceny convictions have been linked to 998 crimes, including 53 murders and 223 sexual assaults.

DNA hits have also helped solve local homicides. The 1986 slaying of John Roe in Bloomingburg, solved in 2004 by a cold hit; the murder of Town of Newburgh restaurateur Cosimo DiBrizzi was solved by a DNA match to a man who'd been convicted of grand larceny; the 1990 slaying of Elaine Ackerman in Deerpark, solved in 2009 after a match to a man who'd given a sample for an unrelated conviction.

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Heather Yakin: DNA databank bill good move for justice