§ 1417.9 (a) Notwithstanding any other law and subject to subdivisions (b) and (c), the appropriate governmental entity shall retain any object or material tha…

(a)  Notwithstanding any other law and subject to subdivisions (b) and (c), the appropriate governmental entity shall retain any object or material that contains or includes biological material that is secured in connection with a criminal case for the period of time that any person remains incarcerated in connection with that case. The governmental entity shall have the discretion to determine how the evidence is retained pursuant to this section, provided that the evidence is retained in a condition suitable for deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing.

(b)  A governmental entity may dispose of any object or material that contains or includes biological material before the expiration of the period of time described in subdivision (a) if all of the conditions set forth below are met:

(1)  The governmental entity notifies all of the following persons of the provisions of this section and of the intention of the governmental entity to dispose of the material:

(2)  The notifying entity does not receive, within 180 days of sending the notification, any of the following:

(3)  No other law requires that biological evidence be preserved or retained.

(c)  Notwithstanding any other law, the right to receive notice pursuant to this section is absolute and shall not be waived. This prohibition applies to, but is not limited to, a waiver that is given as part of an agreement resulting in a plea of guilty or nolo contendere.