FINAL BILL REPORT

EHB 2067

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

C 278 L 19

Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description: Prohibiting the disclosure of certain individual vehicle and vessel owner information of those participating in the address confidentiality program.

Sponsors: Representatives Davis, Chambers, Jinkins, Dufault, Riccelli, Doglio, Tarleton, Kilduff and Pollet.

House Committee on Transportation

Senate Committee on Transportation

Background:

Address Confidentiality Program.

The Address Confidentiality Program (ACP) allows victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking, or stalking to have an alternative address designated as his or her substitute mailing address. The ACP also allows state and local agencies to comply with requests for public records without disclosing the confidential location of a participants.

In order to become a participant in the ACP, a person must submit an application to the Secretary of State (Secretary). The Secretary must approve an application if it is filed in the manner and on the form prescribed by the Secretary and if it includes:

Applicants are certified as program participants for four years, subject to renewal, withdrawal, or invalidation.

An ACP participant may request that state and local agencies use the address designated by the Secretary as his or her address. When creating a new public record, state and local agencies are required to accept the address designated by the Secretary as the participant's substitute address, unless the Secretary has determined that the agency has a bona fide statutory or administrative requirement for the use of the address that would otherwise be confidential, and that the address will be used only for those statutory or administrative purposes.

A participant who is qualified to vote may apply to receive ongoing absentee ballots for all elections in the jurisdiction for which that participant resides. The county auditor is required to send absentee ballots to the participant at the address designated by the participant in his or her absentee ballot application. The county auditor may not release the participant's address pursuant to a public records request except when the request is by a law enforcement agency or pursuant to court order. The name and address of a program participant is excluded from any list of registered voters available to the public.

Other than the alternate address designated by the Secretary, information in the participant's file is not subject to disclosure, except in the following circumstances:

A court order for a participant's information may only be issued upon a probable cause finding by a judicial officer that the release of the participant's information is legally necessary in the course of a criminal investigation or prosecution or to prevent immediate risk to a minor.

The Secretary may cancel a person's participation in the ACP if the participant's residential address changes and he or she fails to give the Secretary at least two days' prior notice in writing of the change of address, or if mail forwarded by the Secretary to the participant is returned as nondeliverable, refused, or unclaimed. The Secretary must cancel a person's participation in the ACP if the participant changes his or her legal name or if the participant provides false information in the application.

Disclosure of Vehicle and Vessel Owner Information.

The Department of Licensing (DOL), county auditors, or agencies or firms authorized by the DOL may not release the name or address of a vehicle or vessel owner, except if:

If both a mailing address and residence address are recorded on the vehicle or vessel record and are different, only the mailing address will be disclosed. Both addresses will be disclosed in response to information requests from courts, law enforcement agencies, or government entities with enforcement, investigative, or taxing authority, and the disclosed information may only be used by the agency in the normal course of conducting their business.

If a requester is an attorney or private investigator, and the request for information has been granted, the disclosing entity must provide notice to the vehicle or vessel owner named in the requested information that the request has been granted. The notice may only include: (1) that the disclosing entity has disclosed the vehicle or vessel owner's name and address; (2) the date that the disclosure was made; and (3) that the vehicle or vessel owner has five days after receiving the notice to contact the disclosing entity to determine whether the requester was an attorney or a private investigator. If the vehicle or vessel owner submits to the disclosing entity a copy of a valid court order restricting another person from contacting the vehicle or vessel owner or his or her family or household member, the disclosing entity must provide the vehicle or vessel owner with the name and address of the requester.

Requests for information may also be granted to governmental entities or law enforcement officers. The disclosure agreement with law enforcement entities must allow law enforcement to redisclose a vessel owner's name or address when trying to locate the owner of a vessel that has become a hazard.

The DOL must charge a $2 fee for each information request, and the fee must be deposited into the Highway Safety Account.

Summary:

Address Confidentiality Program.

The Secretary is required to provide prospective ACP participants with a form directing the DOL to change any associated address on file for vehicles or vessels solely or jointly registered to the prospective participant or the participant's driver's license or identicard to the address designated by the Secretary for the ACP participant. If the ACP participant chooses to complete and sign this form, the Secretary is required to submit the form to the DOL, and the DOL is required to change the addresses on file associated with the ACP participant within 30 days. Participation in the ACP is not contingent on completing and signing this form. The Secretary is also required to provide this form to current ACP participants by November 1, 2019.

Disclosure of Vehicle and Vessel Owner Information.

The DOL, county auditors, or agencies or firms authorized by the DOL may not release the name, any address, vehicle make, vehicle model, vehicle year, vehicle identification number, vessel make and model, vessel model year, hull identification number, vessel document number, vessel registration number, vessel decal number, or license plate number associated with an individual who is a participant in the ACP. A participant's information may be released to government entities or law enforcement officers or if a court order is issued upon a probable cause finding by a judicial officer that the release of the participant's information is legally necessary in the course of a criminal investigation or prosecution or to prevent immediate risk to a minor.

Votes on Final Passage:

House

97

0

Senate

48

0

(Senate amended)

House

94

0

(House concurred)

Effective:

July 28, 2019