HOUSE BILL 119
53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2018
INTRODUCED BY
Rebecca Dow and Daniel A. Ivey-Soto
AN ACT
RELATING TO VICTIMS OF CRIME; ENACTING THE CONFIDENTIAL SUBSTITUTE ADDRESS ACT; CREATING THE CONFIDENTIAL SUBSTITUTE ADDRESS PROGRAM FOR VICTIMS OF CERTAIN CRIMES; REPEALING SECTION 40-13-11 NMSA 1978 (BEING LAWS 2007, CHAPTER 131, SECTION 1).
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. [NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the "Confidential Substitute Address Act".
SECTION 2. [NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Confidential Substitute Address Act:
A. "agency" means an agency of the state or of a political subdivision of the state;
B. "applicant" means a person who submits an application to participate in the confidential substitute address program;
C. "application assistant" means a person who works or volunteers for a domestic violence or sexual assault program and who assists in preparing an application for the confidential substitute address program;
D. "confidential substitute address" means an address designated for a participant by the secretary of state pursuant to the Confidential Substitute Address Act;
E. "delivery address" means the address where an applicant or a participant receives mail, and it may be the same as the person's residential address;
F. "domestic violence" means "domestic abuse", as defined in the Family Violence Protection Act;
G. "participant" means a person certified to participate in the confidential substitute address program pursuant to the Confidential Substitute Address Act;
H. "public record" means "public records", as defined in the Inspection of Public Records Act; and
I. "residential address" means the street address where an applicant or participant resides or will relocate.
SECTION 3. [NEW MATERIAL] CONFIDENTIAL SUBSTITUTE ADDRESS PROGRAM--APPLICATION.--
A. The "confidential substitute address program" is created in the office of the secretary of state to provide a process by which a victim of domestic violence may protect the confidentiality of the victim's residential and delivery addresses in public records.
B. An applicant, with the assistance of an application assistant, shall submit an application to the secretary of state on a form prescribed by the secretary of state. The application assistant's signature shall serve as recommendation that the applicant participate in the confidential substitute address program.
C. An application shall be signed and dated by the applicant and the application assistant and shall include:
(1) the applicant's name;
(2) the applicant's statement that the applicant fears for the safety of the applicant, the applicant's child or another person in the applicant's household because of a threat of immediate or future harm;
(3) the applicant's statement that the disclosure of the applicant's residential or delivery address would endanger the applicant, the applicant's child or another person in the applicant's household;
(4) the applicant's statement that the applicant has confidentially relocated in the past ninety days or will relocate within the state in the next ninety days;
(5) a designation of the secretary of state as the applicant's agent for the purpose of receiving mail, deliveries and service of process, notice or demand;
(6) the applicant's residential and delivery addresses, if different, the confidentiality of which the applicant seeks to protect;
(7) the applicant's telephone number and email address; and
(8) the applicant's statement under penalty of perjury that the information contained in the application is true.
SECTION 4. [NEW MATERIAL] SECRETARY OF STATE--DUTIES--SERVICE ON PARTICIPANT.--
A. The secretary of state shall:
(1) certify applicants whose applications comply with the requirements of the Confidential Substitute Address Act to participate in the confidential substitute address program; and
(2) with respect to each certified participant:
(a) issue a confidential substitute address identification card;
(b) designate a confidential substitute address that shall be used in place of the participant's residential or delivery address by state and local government agencies;
(c) receive mail and deliveries sent to a participant's confidential substitute address and forward the mail and deliveries to the participant's delivery address at no charge to the participant;
(d) accept service of process, notice or demand that is required or permitted by law to be served on the participant and immediately forward the process, notice or demand to the participant's delivery address at no charge to the participant; and
(e) maintain records of the following that are received and forwarded by the secretary of state: 1) a participant's certified and registered mail; and 2) any process, notice or demand that is served on a participant.
B. Service made pursuant to the provisions of this section is perfected three days after it is accepted by the secretary of state.
SECTION 5. [NEW MATERIAL] AGENCIES--USE OF CONFIDENTIAL SUBSTITUTE ADDRESS--PUBLIC RECORDS.--
A. A participant shall:
(1) contact each agency that requests or uses an address; and
(2) provide the agency with a copy of the participant's confidential substitute address identification card.
B. Agencies that receive copies of confidential substitute address identification cards submitted pursuant to this section shall use the participant's confidential substitute address for all purposes.
C. A school district shall use a participant's confidential substitute address as the participant's address of record and, if necessary, shall verify a student's enrollment eligibility with the secretary of state.
D. A participant's residential or delivery address, telephone number and email address that are maintained by an agency are not public records and shall not be disclosed pursuant to the Inspection of Public Records Act while a person is a participant.
SECTION 6. [NEW MATERIAL] CHANGE OF PARTICIPANT NAME, ADDRESS OR TELEPHONE NUMBER--REQUIREMENTS.--
A. A participant shall notify the secretary of state within ten days of legally changing the participant's name and shall provide the secretary of state with a certified copy of documentation of the legal name change.
B. A participant shall notify the secretary of state within ten days of a change to the participant's residential address, delivery address, telephone number or email address.
SECTION 7. [NEW MATERIAL] PARTICIPANT DECERTIFICATION.--
A. A participant shall be decertified from the confidential substitute address program if:
(1) the participant submits a request to withdraw from the confidential substitute address program to the secretary of state;
(2) the participant fails to notify the secretary of state of a legal name change or a change to the participant's residential address, delivery address, telephone number or email address; or
(3) mail that is forwarded by the secretary of state to the participant's delivery address is returned as undeliverable.
B. If the secretary of state determines that one or more of the causes for decertification provided in Subsection A of this section exist, the secretary of state shall send notice of the participant's decertification to the participant's delivery and residential addresses and shall attempt to notify the participant by telephone and email. The participant shall be given ten days from the date of decertification to appeal the decertification.
C. A person who is decertified from the confidential substitute address program shall not continue to use the person's confidential substitute address.
D. For six months after a participant has been decertified, the secretary of state shall forward mail and deliveries to an address provided by the former participant. Upon receipt of mail and deliveries pursuant to this subsection, a former participant shall provide an updated address to the sender.
SECTION 8. [NEW MATERIAL] PARTICIPANT RECORDS--CONFIDENTIALITY--DISCLOSURE PROHIBITED.--
A. The secretary of state and an agency shall not disclose the residential address, delivery address, telephone number or email address of a participant unless the information is required to be disclosed pursuant to a court order. A person or agency that receives a participant's residential address, delivery address, telephone number or email address pursuant to a court order shall not in turn disclose that information unless pursuant to a court order or unless the person has been decertified.
B. The secretary of state shall maintain the confidentiality of all records relating to an applicant for or participant in the confidential substitute address program while the person is a participant and shall:
(1) store all tangible copies of program records in locked equipment;
(2) store all electronic copies of program records in a password-protected system;
(3) restrict access to all program records to secretary of state staff members who are approved to access the records as provided in this section; and
(4) release program records only on a court's order.
C. The secretary of state shall establish a system for restricting access to program records to approved staff members. Before being approved and granted access to program records, the staff member shall:
(1) submit to a criminal background check performed by the department of public safety;
(2) not have a record of a sex offense, felony or a misdemeanor violation related to domestic violence or sexual assault on the results of the person's criminal background check; and
(3) complete forty hours of training, including a domestic violence training course provided by the children, youth and families department and sexual assault training provided by the department of health or the crime victims reparation commission or its successor.
SECTION 9. [NEW MATERIAL] RULES.--The secretary of state shall promulgate rules, including rules regarding records and confidentiality retention, to implement the provisions of the Confidential Substitute Address Act.
SECTION 10. REPEAL.--Section 40-13-11 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2007, Chapter 131, Section 1) is repealed.
SECTION 11. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2018.
- 9 -