The bill extends the requirement to use a substitute address to private entities, upon the request of the program participant.
Definition of Actual Address:
The definition of "actual address" is modified to include only residential addresses, excluding work and school addresses.
Application Requirements:
Program participants may apply with their actual address and either a telephone number or an email address, rather than requiring a telephone number.
Use of Substitute Address:
Entities and agencies must use a substitute address in place of the name of a school, employer, or for a program participant's home-based business, if requested.
Increase in Court Fine:
The court fine applied to convictions for certain offenses, which funds the program, is increased from $28 to $33 and expanded to include convictions for sexual assault and municipal offenses for domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, and human trafficking.
Shielding Real Property Records:
A process is established to allow program participants to shield real property records from public inspection.
Disclosure for Welfare Checks:
Criminal justice officials or government agencies approved for expedited disclosure of a program participant's actual address may share this information with law enforcement agencies for the purpose of conducting welfare checks.
Summary
The bill modifies the address confidentiality program (program),
which is intended to protect the confidentiality of the actual address of a relocated protected health-care worker or a relocated victim of domestic violence, a sexual offense, human trafficking, or stalking. The modifications to the program are:
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Expanding the requirement to use a substitute address for a program participant from applying only to government agencies to applying to private entities, upon request of the program participant;
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Removing work and school addresses from the definition of actual address, such that an actual address only covers a residential address;
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Allowing a program participant to apply with their actual address and either a telephone number or an email address, rather than requiring a telephone number;
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Clarifying that entities and agencies must use a substitute address in the place of the name of a school or employer or for a program participant's home-based business, if requested;
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Increasing the court fine applied to convictions for certain offenses, which is used to fund the program, from $28 to $33 and expanding this fine by applying it to convictions for sexual assault and municipal offenses for domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, and human trafficking;
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Creating a process to allow program participants to shield real property records from public inspection; and
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Allowing a criminal justice official or government agency that has requested and been approved for expedited disclosure of a program participant's actual address to share the actual address with a law enforcement agency for the purpose of conducting a welfare check.
The bill also makes technical and conforming amendments.
