ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Senate has passed a bill allowing the state to retain blood samples from newborn babies indefinitely.

Senators voted 36 to 20 to send the proposal to Gov. Mark Dayton.

The legislation allows parents to refuse to grant the state permission to keep their infants’ samples.

Proponents of the measure say researchers use those blood samples to test for disorders and develop new tests for other disorders. Opponents say the legislation allows the government to own one’s DNA.

The bill also bans the sale of the samples and any related test results and data.

The action comes in the wake of a 2011 Supreme Court ruling and subsequent settlement that resulted in the destruction of more than 1 million blood samples stored under the Minnesota newborn screening program.