HFSC Board Meeting - March 13, 2026: Budget, Contracts, Quality Report
HFSC Board Meeting - March 13, 2026
The Houston Forensic Science Center (HFSC) Board of Directors met on March 13, 2026, to discuss board composition, approve contracts for outsourcing toxicology and DNA services, review the FY2027 budget, and receive updates on quality metrics and operations. The meeting highlighted significant progress in reducing the sexual assault kit backlog from 10,000 to four over 90 days, while noting persistent challenges in firearms backlogs and the need for sustained funding to maintain progress.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes Approval: The board unanimously adopted the minutes from the January 9, 2026, board meeting with no corrections or additions.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public signed up to speak, and the public comment period was closed.
Discussion Items
- Board Composition Update: Chairwoman Cohen announced that Director Philip Hilder stepped down due to health reasons, thanking him for his service. Mayor Whitmeyer and City Council appointed Mr. Durfee, a retired Harris County District Attorney's Office attorney with over 30 years of experience, to fill the remainder of Hilder's term. Director Durfee expressed appreciation for the independence of forensic labs and his commitment to HFSC.
- Emergency Contract Amendment: Chairwoman Cohen reported an amendment to the Signature Science outsourcing contract executed on February 26, 2026, adding $550,000 for a total contract value of $2.6 million. No board action was required.
- Dr. Stout's Operations Report: Dr. Peter Stout provided an overview, noting that the FY2027 budget aims to maintain a cost of about $1,600 per request, consistent with the current fiscal year. He emphasized that national crime laboratories are underfunded, with an average of $620 per request nationally versus an estimated sustainable cost of $2,200. At HFSC, the biology backlog has dropped dramatically, with only four sexual assault kits over 90 days old. Firearms backlogs remain high and will take years to resolve. Dr. Stout warned that any budget cuts would lead to increasing backlogs, particularly affecting sexual assault kits and cold case initiatives from HPD.
- FY2027 Budget Presentation: CFO David Leach presented the budget. The city-contributed revenue request is $3.9 million (an 11% increase) to maintain current operations and fund property room transition needs. The base need is $2.7 million to sustain existing services, with an additional $1.2 million for property room staffing (bringing 6 part-time transition employees to full-time and moving 9 HPD warehouse positions to HFSC cost-neutrally). The budget assumes a 7.5% vacancy rate and includes a 3.5% average pay increase and a 20% health insurance cost increase. No new capital equipment is planned; the laboratory will absorb inflation through efficiencies.
- Quality Report: Jacqueline Morrell, Quality Director, presented a 48-page management review. In 2025, HFSC completed 10 internal audits, submitted 362 blind quality control cases, implemented 7 OSAC standards, completed 9 risk assessments, initiated 16 preventive/process improvements, and reported 194 nonconformances. The high number of nonconformances indicates a healthy reporting culture. She described a recent example where a reagent defect was identified via the blind program, leading to disclosures to stakeholders and corrective actions.
- Audit Update: David Leach informed the board that the single audit for FY2024, delayed due to missing federal guidance, has been completed with a clean opinion (100% pass). No vote was needed.
Key Outcomes
- Motion Carried: Approval of a contract with National Medical Services (NMS) for toxicology outsourcing services, not to exceed $400,000. Authorized Dr. Stout to execute.
- Motion Carried: Approval of a contract with Signature Science, LLC for DNA outsourcing services funded by a Bureau of Justice Assistance grant (Capacity Enhancement Backlog Reduction, Year 24), not to exceed $760,367. Authorized Dr. Stout to execute.
- Motion Carried: Approval of the FY2027 budget as presented, including the $3.9 million city funding request. The board voted unanimously in favor.
- Next Meeting: Scheduled for May 8, 2026.
Meeting Transcript
And so I'd like to begin. Madam Secretary, would you please call the roll? Yes, Madam Chair. I'll begin the roll call now. Chairwoman Cohen. Here. Vice Chair Baird. Director Vasquez. Here. Director Durfee? Here. Director Silberman. Director Corrales. Here. Director Yu? Director Mazah. Director Huff? Here. Director Goose? Here. And that concludes the roll call. We do have a quorum, so we can proceed. Thank you very much. With that, let's proceed to uh agenda item three. First, I'd like to give an update regarding our board composition. As some of you know, Director Philip Hill um Hilder has not been able to join us for quite some time due to extenuating health circumstances. As a result, he recently made the decision to step down from the board. Director Hilder was a faithful member of this board for several years. He is a respected defense attorney in federal court, and he brought a wealth of knowledge to our discussions. We will miss him, and we are wishing him the very best. And I believe we sent him something on behalf of the board. To fulfill the remainder of Director Hilliard's term, last week Mayor Whitmeyer and City Council appointed a new HFSC board member. Yes. Thank you. Mr. Durfee is an experienced attorney who has dedicated his career to public service. He retired from the Harris County District Attorney's Office in 2021 after more than 30 years. Probation was over, was it? I I never came off of probation. He served as their general counsel for many years and across several administrations. He's often been called on to provide training on ethics and government law issues, including leading the annual trainings for the State Bar Government Law Section and Test Texas District and County Attorneys Association. In his retirement, Mr. Durfee has continued to practice law at his own firm, and we are so pleased that he has agreed to join our board. Thank you for those really kind words. And the one thing that I came away from from those experiences was an appreciation for the independence of forensic analysis and the forensic labs that we have that uh that the criminal justice system is well served by uh uh a well-funded and competent and independent uh forensic lab. And uh it's really my honor uh to be here today to continue that effort to um uh work towards uh an even more independent, even more well-funded and uh even more competent um uh Houston Forensic uh Science Umter. And so uh whatever I can do to help, I'm here to help. Thank you. Well, thank you. We're honored to have you join us, and we look forward to a very good year.
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