A new state law amending Pennsylvania’s DNA law may cause a few headaches on the county prison levels.

Additional requirements will add extra DNA sample gathering to the list of items needed in a case.

On Wednesday, Carbon County Warden Timothy Fritz told the county prison board that right now, the correctional facility collects about 75 to 100 DNA samples a year based on the current law.

But those figures may triple, or even quadruple, Fritz said, after Act 147 of 2018 takes effect on Dec. 1.

Right now, the prisons must collect DNA samples from all people who are convicted of felonies, as well as those involved in sexual assault cases and crimes of that nature.

Under the new law, Fritz said the prison will also need to collect samples for misdemeanors.

“That’s 75-80% of our criminal cases,” Fritz said, noting that it pretty much omits only summary offense cases from the new requirement.

“It’s definitely going to have a bearing on what happens with collecting the DNA samples.”

Fritz said he spoke with adult probation and other court officials, and everyone is in agreement that the DNA gathering number will increase.

Right now, only one staff member does the DNA collection at the prison, so Fritz said depending on how much of an increase it is, the county may need to look at adding more help to meet the requirement.

Sheriff Anthony Harvilla, the president of the prison board, told Fritz to make sure the prison keeps good records and then a month-to-month comparison from this year to see if more help is necessary.

Carbon County Correctional Facility, located on the Broad Mountain in Nesquehoning, currently has an inmate population of 228.