address confidentiality program

HB2695 - 572R - I Ver

REFERENCE TITLE:
address confidentiality program

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

HB 2695

Introduced by

Representative
Willoughby

AN
ACT

AMENDING SECTIONS 16-153, 41-162
AND 41-166, ARIZONA REVISED STATUTES; RELATING TO ADDRESS
CONFIDENTIALITY.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 16-153, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
16-153.

Voter registration; confidentiality; definitions

A. Eligible persons, and any other registered voter
who resides at the same residence address as the eligible person, may request
that the general public be prohibited from accessing the eligible person's
identifying information, including any of the following:

1. That person's documents and voting precinct
number contained in that person's voter registration record.

2. If the person is a public official, the address
of a property held in trust by the public official.

B. Eligible persons may request this action by
filing an affidavit that states all of the following on an application form
developed by the administrative office of the courts in agreement with an
association of counties and an organization of peace officers:

1. The person's full legal name, residential address
and date of birth.

2. Unless the person is the spouse of a peace
officer or the spouse or minor child of a deceased peace officer or the person
is a former public official or former judge, the position the person currently
holds and a description of the person's duties, except that an eligible person
who is protected under an order of protection or injunction against harassment
shall instead attach a copy of the order of protection or injunction against
harassment.

3. The reasons for reasonably believing that the
person's life or safety or that of another person is in danger and that sealing
the identifying information and voting precinct number of the person's voting
record will serve to reduce the danger.

C. The affidavit shall be filed with the presiding
judge of the superior court in the county in which the affiant
resides. To prevent multiple filings, an eligible person who is a
peace officer, prosecutor, public defender, code enforcement officer,
corrections or detention officer, corrections support staff member or law
enforcement support staff member shall deliver the affidavit to the peace
officer's commanding officer, or to the head of the prosecuting, public
defender, code enforcement, law enforcement, corrections or detention agency,
as applicable, or that person's designee, who shall file the affidavits at one
time. In the absence of an affidavit that contains a request for
immediate action and is supported by facts justifying an earlier presentation,
the commanding officer, or the head of the prosecuting, public defender, code
enforcement, law enforcement, corrections or detention agency, as applicable,
or that person's designee, shall not file affidavits more often than quarterly.

D. On receipt of an affidavit or affidavits, the
presiding judge of the superior court shall file with the clerk of the superior
court a petition on behalf of all requesting affiants.� The petition shall have
attached each affidavit presented.� In the absence of an affidavit that
contains a request for immediate action and that is supported by facts
justifying an earlier consideration, the presiding judge may accumulate
affidavits and file a petition at the end of each quarter.

E. The presiding judge of the superior court shall
review the petition and each attached affidavit to determine whether the action
requested by each affiant should be granted.� The presiding judge of the
superior court shall order the sealing for five years of the information
contained in the voter record of the affiant and, on request, any other
registered voter who resides at the same residence address if the presiding
judge concludes that this action will reduce a danger to the life or safety of
the affiant.

F. The recorder shall
remove the restrictions on all voter records submitted pursuant to subsection E
of this section by January 5 in the year after the court order
expires. The county recorder shall send by mail one notice to either
the health professional, election officer, public official,

former
public official, peace officer, spouse of a peace officer, spouse or minor
child of a deceased peace officer, public defender, prosecutor, code
enforcement officer, corrections or detention officer, corrections support
staff member, law enforcement support staff member, employee of the department
of child safety or employee of adult protective services who has direct contact
with families in the course of employment or the employing agency of the peace
officer, public defender, prosecutor, code enforcement officer, corrections or
detention officer, corrections support staff member or law enforcement support
staff member who was granted an order pursuant to this section of the order's
expiration date at least six months before the January 5 removal
date. If the notice is sent to the employing agency, the employing
agency shall immediately notify the person who was granted the order of the
upcoming expiration date. The county recorder may coordinate with
the county assessor and county treasurer to prevent multiple notices from being
sent to the same person.

G. On entry of the court order, the clerk of the
superior court shall file the court order with the county
recorder. On receipt of the court order the county recorder shall
seal the voter registration of the persons listed in the court order not later
than one hundred twenty days from the date of receipt of the court
order. To include a subsequent voter registration in the court
order, a person listed in the court order shall present to the county recorder
at the time of registration a certified copy of the court order or shall
provide the county recorder the recording number of the court
order. The information in the registration shall not be disclosed
and is not a public record.

H. If the court denies an affiant's requested
sealing of the voter registration record, the affiant may request a court
hearing. The hearing shall be conducted by the court where the
petition was filed.

I. On motion to the court, if the presiding judge of
the superior court concludes that a voter registration record has been sealed
in error or that the cause for the original affidavit no longer exists, the
presiding judge may vacate the court order prohibiting public access to the
voter registration record.

J. On request by a person who is protected under an
order of protection or injunction against harassment and presentation of an
order of protection issued pursuant to section 13-3602, an injunction
against harassment issued pursuant to section 12-1809 or an order of
protection or injunction against harassment issued by a court in another state
or a program participant in the address confidentiality program pursuant to
title 41, chapter 1, article 3, the county recorder shall seal the voter registration
record of the person who is protected and, on request, any other registered
voter who resides at the residence address of the protected
person. The record shall be sealed not later than one hundred twenty
days from the date of receipt of the court order.
On
renewal of the certification of a
program participant
in the ADDRESS confidentiality program pursuant to title 41, chapter 1, article
3
, which may include other members of the household as PRESCRIBED by
section 41-163, the county recorder shall continue or renew the sealing of the
voter registration record of the program participant and, if requested, any
other registered voter who resides at the residence
address of the
program participant.� if a PROGRAM PARTICIPANT PURSUANT TO
TITLE 41, CHAPTER 1, ARTICLE 3 dies, the voter registration records at the

OTHER REGISTERED VOTERs WHO RESIDE AT THE RESIDENCE ADDRESS OF
THE program participant shall continue to remain sealed.
The
information in the registration shall not be disclosed and is not a public
record.

K. For the purposes of this section:

1. "Code enforcement officer" means a
person who is employed by a state or local government and whose duties include
performing field inspections of buildings, structures or property to ensure
compliance with and enforce national, state and local laws, ordinances and
codes.

2. "Commissioner" means a commissioner of
the superior court or municipal court.

3. "Corrections support staff member"
means an adult or juvenile corrections employee who has direct contact with
inmates.

4. "Election officer" means a state,
county or municipal employee who holds an election officer's certificate issued
pursuant to section 16-407.

5. "Eligible
person" means a health professional, election officer, public official,
former public official, peace officer, spouse of a peace officer, spouse or
minor child of a deceased peace officer, justice, judge, commissioner, hearing
officer, public defender, prosecutor, member of the commission on appellate
court appointments, code enforcement officer, adult or juvenile corrections
officer, corrections support staff member, probation officer, member of the
board of executive clemency, law enforcement support staff member, employee of
the department of child safety or employee of adult protective services who has
direct contact with families in the course of employment, national guard member
who is acting in support of a law enforcement agency, person who is protected
under an order of protection or injunction against harassment or firefighter
who is assigned to the Arizona counter terrorism information center in the
department of public safety.

6. "Former public official" means a person
who was duly elected or appointed to Congress, the legislature or a statewide
office, who ceased serving in that capacity and who was the victim of a
dangerous offense as defined in section 13-105 while in office.

7. "Health professional" means an
individual who is licensed pursuant to title 32, chapter 13, 15, 17, 19.1, 25
or 33.

8. "Hearing officer" means a hearing
officer who is appointed pursuant to section 28-1553.

9. "Judge" means a judge or former judge
of the United States district court, the United States court of appeals, the
United States magistrate court, the United States bankruptcy court, the United
States immigration court, the Arizona court of appeals, the superior court or a
municipal court.

10. "Justice" means a justice of the
United States or Arizona supreme court or a justice of the peace.

11. "Law enforcement support staff member"
means a person who serves in the role of an investigator or prosecutorial
assistant in an agency that investigates or prosecutes crimes, who is integral
to the investigation or prosecution of crimes and whose name or identity will
be revealed in the course of public proceedings.

12. "Peace officer":

(a) Has the same meaning prescribed in section 1-215.

(b) Includes a federal law enforcement officer or
agent who resides in this state and who has the power to make arrests pursuant
to federal law.

13. "Prosecutor" means a current or former
United States attorney, county attorney, municipal prosecutor or attorney
general and includes a current or former assistant or deputy United States
attorney, county attorney, municipal prosecutor or attorney general.

14. "Public
defender" means a federal public defender, county public defender, county
legal defender or county contract indigent defense counsel and includes an
assistant or deputy federal public defender, county public defender or county
legal defender.

15. "Public official" means a person who
is duly elected or appointed to Congress, the legislature, a statewide office
or a county, city or town office.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Section 41-162, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
41-162.

Address confidentiality; duties of secretary of state;
application assistant; criminal records check

A.
On or before December 31, 2012,

The secretary of state shall establish the address confidentiality program to
allow persons who have been subjected to domestic violence offenses, sexual
offenses or stalking to keep their residence addresses confidential and not
accessible to the general public. Participants in the program shall
receive a substitute address that becomes the participant's lawful address of
record.

B. The secretary of state shall:

1. Designate a substitute address for a program
participant that is used by state and local government entities as set forth in
this section.

2. Receive mail sent to a program participant at a
substitute address and forward the mail to the program participant as set forth
in paragraph 3 of this subsection.

3. Receive first-class, certified or registered mail
on behalf of a program participant and forward the mail to the program
participant for no charge. The secretary of state may arrange to
receive and forward other classes or kinds of mail at the program participant's
expense. The secretary of state is not required to track or
otherwise maintain records of any mail received on behalf of a program
participant unless the mail is certified or registered mail.

C. Notwithstanding any other law and except as
provided by court rule, a program participant may be served by registered mail
or by certified mail, return receipt requested, addressed to the program
participant at the program participant's substitute address with any process,
notice or demand required or allowed by law to be served on the program
participant.� This subsection does not prescribe the only means, or necessarily
the required means, of serving a program participant in this state.

D. The secretary of state may designate as an
application assistant any person who:

1. Provides counseling, referral or other services
to victims of domestic violence, a sexual offense or stalking.

2. Completes any training and registration process
required by the secretary of state.

E. Any assistance and counseling rendered by the
secretary of state or an application assistant to an applicant related to this
section is not legal advice.

F. each secretary of state employee,
application assistant and volunteer who aids the ADDRESS CONFIDENTIALITY
program pursuant to this section shall submit a full set of fingerprints to the
secretary of state's office for the purpose of obtaining a state and federal
criminal records check pursuant to section 41-1750 and Public Law
92-544. The department of public safety may exchange this
fingerprint data with the federal bureau of investigation.�

G. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER LAW, ALL
RECORDS AND INFORMATION REGARDING A PROGRAM PARTICIPANT ARE CONFIDENTIAL, are
not PUBLIC RECORDs AND ARE SUBJECT TO DISCLOSURE ONLY BY COURT ORDER AND AS
CONSISTENT WITH THIS ARTICLE.

END_STATUTE

Sec. 3. Section 41-166, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
41-166.

Address use by state or local government entities

A. The program participant, and not the secretary of
state, is responsible for requesting that a state or local government entity
use the program participant's substitute address as the program participant's
residential, work or school address for all purposes for which the state or
local government entity requires or requests the residential, work or school
address.

B. Except as otherwise provided in this section or
unless the secretary of state grants a state or local government entity's
request for disclosure pursuant to section 41-167, if a program
participant submits a current and valid address confidentiality program
authorization card to the state or local government entity, the state or local
government entity shall accept the substitute address designation on the card
as the program participant's address for use as the program participant's
residential, work or school address when creating a new public record.� The
substitute address given to the state or local government entity is considered
the last known address for the program participant used by the state or local
government entity until the time that the state or local government entity
receives notification pursuant to section 41-164. The state or
local government entity may make a photocopy of the card for the records of the
state or local government entity and shall immediately return the card to the program
participant.

C. Except as otherwise provided in this section or
by order of the court, if a program participant submits a current and valid
address confidentiality program authorization card to the court, the court
shall accept the substitute address designation on the card as the program
participant's address for use as the program participant's residential, work or
school address. The substitute address given to the court is
considered the last known address for the program participant used by the court
until the time that the court receives notification pursuant to section 41-164.�
The court may make a photocopy of the card for the court file and shall return
the card to the program participant.

D. When a person with an existing voter registration
record becomes a program participant, the secretary of state shall secure the
participant's voter registration record and notify the appropriate county
recorder of the participant's secured status, current residence address and
substitute address for the county recorder to revise the participant's voter
registration record so that the participant's address can be kept confidential
in the same manner as prescribed by section 16-153.� A program
participant who is not already registered to vote may register to vote using
the substitute address and must provide the election official with the
participant's actual residence address for precinct designation
purposes. If the participant registers to vote other than online or
at a driver license examination facility, the participant shall present a
completed voter registration form with the participant's substitute address and
address confidentiality program card to the appropriate election official.

E. A designated election official shall use the
actual address of a program participant for precinct designation and all
official election-related purposes and shall keep the program
participant's actual address confidential from the public.� The election
official shall use the substitute address for all correspondence and mailings
placed in the United States mail. The substitute address shall not
be used as an actual residence address for voter registration.

F. if A PROGRAM PARTICIPANT WITHDRAWS
OR IS CANCELED FROM THE address confidentiality PROGRAM, THE SECRETARY OF STATE
SHALL PROVIDE NOTICE TO THE APPROPRIATE COUNTY RECORDER AND THE COUNTY RECORDER
SHALL unseal the former program participant's voter registration record and the
voter registration record of any other registered voter who resides at the
residence address of the former protected PERSON, and shall REMOVE THE
SUBSTITUTE ADDRESS as THE MAILING ADDRESS FOR THE FORMER PROGRAM PARTICIPANT.

F.

G.
A
state or local government entity's access to a program participant's voter
registration shall be governed by the disclosure process set forth in section
41-167.

G.

H.
A
program participant who completes an application to register to vote at a
driver license examination facility while receiving a driver license or an
identification card is required to have the program participant's actual
address on the driver license or identification card.� A program participant
whose driver license has the substitute address may register to vote, if
otherwise eligible, pursuant to subsection E of this section.

H.

I.
The substitute address shall not be used for
purposes of listing, appraising or assessing property taxes and collecting
property taxes. If a program participant would like to keep records
maintained by the county assessor and county treasurer confidential, the
program participant shall comply with section 11-484.

I.

J.
If
a program participant is required by law to swear or affirm to the program
participant's address, the program participant may use the participant's
substitute address.

J.

K.
The
substitute address shall not be used for
the
purposes of
assessing any taxes or fees on a motor vehicle or for titling or registering a
motor vehicle.� Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, any record that
includes a program participant's actual address pursuant to this subsection
shall be confidential and not available for inspection by anyone other than the
program participant.

K.

L.
The
substitute address shall not be used on any document related to real property
recorded with a recorder. If a program participant would like to
keep real property records confidential, the program participant shall comply
with section 11-483.

L.

M.
A
public school shall accept the substitute address as the address of record and
shall verify student enrollment eligibility through the secretary of
state. The secretary of state shall facilitate the transfer of
student records from one school to another.

M.

N.
Except
as otherwise provided in this section, a program participant's actual address
and telephone number maintained by a state or local government entity or
disclosed by the secretary of state is not a public record that is subject to
inspection.� This subsection shall not apply to the following:

1. Any public record created more than ninety days
before the date that the program participant applied to be certified in the
program.

2. A program participant who voluntarily requests
that a state or local government entity use the participant's actual address or
voluntarily gives the actual address to the state or local government entity.

N.

O.
For
any public record created within ninety days before the date that a program
participant applied to be certified in the program, a state or local government
entity shall redact the actual address from a public record or change the
actual address to the substitute address in the public record, if a program
participant who presents a current and valid program authorization card
requests the entity that maintains the public record to use the substitute
address instead of the actual address on the public record.
END_STATUTE