A regional crime laboratory that would serve law enforcement agencies within a 75-mile radius of Huntsville is closer to becoming reality.

The U.S. Senate approved a Fiscal Year 2008 Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations bill by a 75-19 vote Tuesday night, providing $1 million toward establishing the lab at Sam Houston State University.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), a member of the Senate Appropriations Commit-tee, helped obtain the funds.

The lab would conduct DWI tests in addition to toxicology, drug and DNA analysis and fingerprint matching.

The House previously approved the bill and $375,000 in funding. The bill now goes to President Bush for his signature.

On July 27, U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady (R-The Woodlands) secured House approval to fund the crime lab, which is a partnership between SHSU and Walker County, to help expedite criminal investigations in rural communities outside of Houston.

“The crime lab at Sam Houston will provide law enforcement the vital tools they need to protect the public and help ensure public safety in East Texas,” Hutchison said in a prepared statement.

“Our rural law enforcement agencies need their tests done quickly and affordably, and to not get stuck in the backlog in Houston or Dallas,” Brady said when the House approved the bill. “The funding is not all that we need, but it’s a start.

“This funding will kick off the effort to create a crime lab that taps the resources and expertise of one of the top criminal justice institutions in the nation, Sam Houston State University.”

“Law enforcement officials and agencies in smaller communities experience long waits and backlogs when requesting services from crime labs in major cities,” Brady said. “The regional crime lab will give local law enforcement in surrounding counties new tools to help better protect the communities they serve.”

The Walker County Sheriff’s Office uses medical examiners from both Harris and Dallas counties and the Texas Department of Public Safety for narcotics analysis.

“Crime labs have become extremely important in law enforcement today,” said Richard Ward, SHSU associate vice president for research and special programs, in an Oct. 31, 2006, story in The Item. “The workload in Harris and Montgomery counties has increased dramatically so the need for a laboratory in this region is extremely important.”