Bill Text: IA SF457 | 2025-2026 | 91st General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to the address confidentiality program.(Formerly SSB 1129.)

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-27 - Committee report, approving bill. S.J. 385. [SF457 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2025-SF457-Introduced.html
Senate File 457 - Introduced SENATE FILE 457 BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT (SUCCESSOR TO SSB 1129) (COMPANION TO HF 397 BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT) A BILL FOR An Act relating to the address confidentiality program. 1 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 2 TLSB 1414SV (1) 91 sc/ns
S.F. 457 Section 1. Section 9E.3, subsection 1, paragraphs e and f, 1 Code 2025, are amended to read as follows: 2 e. The residential address of the eligible person, 3 disclosure of which could lead to an increased risk of domestic 4 abuse, domestic abuse assault, sexual abuse, assault, stalking, 5 or human trafficking. If the eligible person’s residential 6 address is a shelter known to the program, the applicant may 7 provide the shelter’s name and other contact information in 8 lieu of the shelter’s physical address. 9 f. If mail cannot be delivered to the residential address of 10 the eligible person, the address to which mail can be sent to 11 the eligible person. If the eligible person’s mailing address 12 is a shelter known to the program, the applicant may provide 13 the shelter’s name and other contact information in lieu of the 14 shelter’s physical address. 15 Sec. 2. Section 9E.4, subsection 2, Code 2025, is amended 16 to read as follows: 17 2. The secretary shall cancel a program participant’s 18 certification if the for any of the following reasons: 19 a. The program participant’s application contains false 20 information. 21 b. The secretary receives information from a reliable source 22 that the program participant has died. 23 c. A program participant with legal documentation from a 24 reliable source requests an adult member of a household to be 25 removed from the program. An adult member of a household whose 26 program certification is canceled is eligible to rejoin the 27 program. 28 Sec. 3. Section 9E.5, subsection 3, Code 2025, is amended 29 to read as follows: 30 3. The secretary shall forward all mail sent to the 31 designated address to the program participant. At the request 32 of the program participant, the secretary may hold the program 33 participant’s mail for up to thirty days. 34 Sec. 4. Section 9E.6, subsection 1, Code 2025, is amended by 35 -1- LSB 1414SV (1) 91 sc/ns 1/ 3
S.F. 457 adding the following new paragraph: 1 NEW PARAGRAPH . c. The state commissioner of elections 2 or a county commissioner of elections shall cancel a program 3 participant’s voter registration upon becoming aware of the 4 program participant’s voter registration in another state. 5 Sec. 5. Section 9E.6, subsection 2, paragraph a, Code 2025, 6 is amended to read as follows: 7 a. A program participant who is otherwise eligible to 8 vote may annually register with the state commissioner of 9 elections as an absentee voter for the length of a program 10 participant’s certification period . As soon as practicable 11 before each election, the state commissioner of elections shall 12 determine the precinct in which the residential address of the 13 program participant is located and shall request and receive 14 from the county commissioner of elections the ballot for that 15 precinct and shall forward the absentee ballot to the program 16 participant with the other materials for absentee balloting as 17 required of the county commissioner of elections by section 18 53.8 . 19 EXPLANATION 20 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 21 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 22 Under current law, the address confidentiality program 23 managed by the secretary of state provides mail forwarding 24 services to program participants who include victims of 25 domestic abuse, domestic abuse assault, sexual abuse, assault, 26 stalking, or human trafficking, and individuals who fear for 27 their own safety or the safety of a household member. This 28 bill allows the secretary to (1) accept as an eligible person’s 29 residential or mailing address the name and other contact 30 information of a shelter at which the eligible person resides 31 in lieu of the shelter’s physical address, (2) cancel an 32 adult participant’s certification or a deceased participant’s 33 certification upon receiving reliable information, and (3) 34 hold a participant’s mail for up to 30 days at the request of 35 -2- LSB 1414SV (1) 91 sc/ns 2/ 3
S.F. 457 the participant. The bill requires the secretary or a county 1 commissioner of elections to cancel a participant’s voter 2 registration if aware that the participant is registered to 3 vote in another state. The bill allows a program participant 4 to register as an absentee voter for the length of the 5 participant’s certification period, rather than annually under 6 current law. 7 -3- LSB 1414SV (1) 91 sc/ns 3/ 3
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