BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1233|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1233
Author: Oropeza (D)
Amended: 5/17/10
Vote: 21
SENATE ELEC., REAP. & CONST. AMEND. COMMITTEE : 5-0, 4/6/10
AYES: Hancock, Denham, DeSaulnier, Liu, Strickland
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 4-0, 4/13/10
AYES: Corbett, Hancock, Leno, Walters
NO VOTE RECORDED: Harman
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 10-0, 5/27/10
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Corbett, Denham, Leno, Price,
Walters, Wolk, Wyland, Yee
SUBJECT : Confidential address programs
SOURCE : Secretary of State
DIGEST : This bill removes the January 13, 2010 sunset
date on the Safe at Home project a confidential address
program that offers victim anonymity.
ANALYSIS : Existing law establishes the following two
programs, until January 1, 2013, collectively known as the
"Safe At Home" project: (1)
The Address Confidentiality for Victims of Domestic
Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking program; and (2) The
Address Confidentiality for Reproductive Health Care
CONTINUED
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Service Providers, Employees, Volunteers, and Patients
program.
Existing law allows a person who is a victim of domestic
violence, sexual assault, or stalking, or who is a
reproductive health care services provider, employee,
volunteer, or patient, and who fears for his/her safety or
the safety of his/her family, to participate in the "Safe
at Home" project by applying to the Secretary of State
(SOS) at a designated community based assistance program.
Existing law provides that each participant in the "Safe at
Home" project shall have a substitute address designated by
the SOS that the participant may use when he/she is
required to provide an address to a state or local agency.
Existing law requires every state or local agency, with
limited exceptions, to accept the substitute address
designated by the SOS when creating a public record.
Existing law requires the SOS to forward all first-class
mail and all mail sent by governmental agencies to the
appropriate "Safe at Home" participants.
Existing law allows a participant in the "Safe at Home"
project, until January 1, 2013, to have the information
relating to his/her residence address, telephone number,
and e-mail address appearing on the participant's voter
registration card, or on any list, index, or roster of
registered voters, declared confidential. Requires any
person granted confidentiality under this provision to
provide a valid mailing address and to be a permanent
vote-by-mail voter for all subsequent elections or until
the elections official is notified otherwise by the SOS or
in writing by the voter.
This bill removes the sunset provision and will instead
extend the provisions of the program indefinitely.
Existing law requires any records or documents pertaining
to a Safe at Home program participant to be retained and
held confidential for a period of three years after
termination of certification and then destroyed.
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This bill instead requires that change of name records be
retained permanently by the SOS.
Background
The SOS's Safe at Home program was originally created in SB
489 (Alpert), Chapter 1005, Statutes of 1998 for victims of
actual or threatened domestic violence. Expanded in later
years to include victims of stalking, SB 1318 (Alpert),
Chapter 562, Statutes of 2000 reproductive health care
workers and patients (AB 797 [Shelley], Chapter 380,
Statutes of 2002) adding voter registration confidentiality
to the program through AB 603 (Price), Chapter 586,
Statutes of 2007. The program provides a designated
address for use by participants in public documents, mail
and service of process while keeping the participants'
actual physical addresses confidential. Once accepted into
the program, participants are certified for a period of
four years.
State and local agencies are required to accept the
substitute address designated by the SOS, and a participant
is able to request that his/her residence address and phone
number be kept confidential when applying for a marriage
license or when registering to vote. Knowingly providing
false or misleading information on the application is a
misdemeanor.
Permanent retention . Safe at Home participants often
legally change their name. Existing law requires the old
name to be removed from court records and the new name to
be filed with the SOS. As a result the SOS maintains the
only complete record of the participant's confidential name
change. However, existing law also requires all closed or
terminated Safe at Home case files to be shredded after
three years, which means Safe at Home participants who opt
to legally file and complete a confidential change of name
risk losing all records pertaining to their past name, if
they leave the program. The bill allows name changes of
program participants to be retained permanently, mirroring
existing law relative to court records.
Related legislation
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SB 489 (Alpert), Chapter 1005, Statutes of 1998 established
the Safe at Home Program providing address confidentiality
of domestic abuse victims.
SB 1318 (Alpert), Chapter 562, Statutes of 2000 was
expanded to include victims of stalking.
AB 797 (Shelley), Chapter 380 Statutes of 2002 expanded
protection to reproductive health care workers and
patients.
AB 2169 (Montanez), Chapter 475, Statutes of 2006 extended
the Program's sunset to 2013.
AB 603 (Price), Chapter 234, Statutes of 2007 extended to
2013 a sunset to the provision on voter registration
confidentiality that was set to expire in 2008.
According to the Safe at Home 2009 Annual Report released
by the Secretary of State on January 8, 2010, some of the
program highlights in 2009 were:
1. Partnering with the Judicial Council to ensure Safe at
Home participants are protected from publication of
confidential name changes in any public forum including
the Internet and court calendars.
2. Strengthening the security of the Safe at Home database,
reducing operating expenses, and expanding outreach
efforts to minority communities.
3. Compiling a detailed procedure manual to serve as both a
training tool in California and a model for other
states.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee analysis,
the Safe at Home program, known as the "Address
Confidentiality for Victims of Domestic Violence and
Stalking", is scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2013.
This bill permanently removes that sunset. Full year
annual ongoing costs will be $606,000 beginning FY 2013-14.
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In addition to conducting outreach, processing
applications and mail, and providing assistance to
participants, staff also provides training for and responds
to calls from over 325 Safe at Home enrolling agencies
statewide.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/27/10)
Secretary of State (source)
ACOG - District IX
CA Communities United Institute
CA State Sheriff's Association
Crime Victims United of CA
Family Violence Law Center
Junior Leagues of CA
LA County District Attorney
NARAL Pro-Choice CA
Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health
Planned Parenthood Affiliates of CA
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
Safe at Home is a confidential address program administered
by the SOS that offers victims anonymity. Participants can
use a free post office box instead of their home address to
help them maintain their privacy when receiving first-class
mail, opening a bank account, completing a confidential
name change, filling out government documents, registering
to vote, getting a driver's license, enrolling a child in
school, and more. Since its inception in 1999, the Safe at
Home Program has helped protect the identities of nearly
3,800 survivors of domestic violence, stalking, and sexual
assault, as well as reproductive health care doctors,
nurses, volunteers and patients.
DLW:do 5/28/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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