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Public Act 91-0494
HB1188 Enrolled LRB9103610MWpr
AN ACT to create the Address Confidentiality for Victims
of Domestic Violence Act.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Address Confidentiality for Victims of Domestic Violence Act.
Section 5. Legislative findings. The General Assembly
finds that persons attempting to escape from actual or
threatened domestic violence frequently establish new
addresses in order to prevent their assailants or probable
assailants from finding them. The purpose of this Act is to
enable State and local agencies to respond to requests for
public records without disclosing the location of a victim of
domestic violence, to enable interagency cooperation with the
Attorney General in providing address confidentiality for
victims of domestic violence, and to enable State and local
agencies to accept a program participant's use of an address
designated by the Attorney General as a substitute mailing
address.
Section 10. Definitions. In this Act, unless the
context otherwise requires:
"Address" means a residential street address, school
address, or work address of an individual, as specified on
the individual's application to be a program participant
under this Act.
"Program participant" means a person certified as a
program participant under this Act.
"Domestic violence" has the same meaning as in the
Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986 and includes a threat
of domestic violence against an individual in a domestic
situation, regardless of whether the domestic violence or
threat has been reported to law enforcement officers.
Section 11. Address confidentiality program;
administration. Subject to appropriations for the purposes of
this Act, the Attorney General shall administer an address
confidentiality program for victims of domestic violence.
Section 15. Address confidentiality program;
application; certification.
(a) An adult person, a parent or guardian acting on
behalf of a minor, or a guardian acting on behalf of a
disabled person, as defined in Article 11a of the Probate Act
of 1975, may apply to the Attorney General to have an address
designated by the Attorney General serve as the person's
address or the address of the minor or disabled person. The
Attorney General shall approve an application if it is filed
in the manner and on the form prescribed by him or her and if
it contains:
(1) a sworn statement by the applicant that the
applicant has good reason to believe (i) that the
applicant, or the minor or disabled person on whose
behalf the application is made, is a victim of domestic
violence; and (ii) that the applicant fears for his or
her safety or his or her children's safety, or the safety
of the minor or disabled person on whose behalf the
application is made;
(2) a designation of the Attorney General as agent
for purposes of service of process and receipt of mail;
(3) the mailing address where the applicant can be
contacted by the Attorney General, and the phone number
or numbers where the applicant can be called by the
Attorney General;
(4) the new address or addresses that the applicant
requests not be disclosed for the reason that disclosure
will increase the risk of domestic violence; and
(5) the signature of the applicant and of any
individual or representative of any office designated in
writing under Section 40 of this Act who assisted in the
preparation of the application, and the date on which the
applicant signed the application.
(b) Applications shall be filed with the office of the
Attorney General.
(c) Upon filing a properly completed application, the
Attorney General shall certify the applicant as a program
participant. Applicants shall be certified for 4 years
following the date of filing unless the certification is
withdrawn or invalidated before that date. The Attorney
General shall by rule establish a renewal procedure.
(d) A person who falsely attests in an application that
disclosure of the applicant's address would endanger the
applicant's safety or the safety of the applicant's children
or the minor or incapacitated person on whose behalf the
application is made, or who knowingly provides false or
incorrect information upon making an application, is guilty
of a Class 3 felony.
Section 20. Certification cancellation.
(a) If the program participant obtains a name change, he
or she loses certification as a program participant.
(b) The Attorney General may cancel a program
participant's certification if there is a change in the
residential address from the one listed on the application,
unless the program participant provides the Attorney General
within 7 days notice before the change of address.
(c) The Attorney General may cancel certification of a
program participant if mail forwarded by the Attorney General
to the program participant's address is returned as
nondeliverable.
(d) The Attorney General shall cancel certification of a
program participant who applies using false information.
Section 25. Agency use of designated address.
(a) A program participant may request that State and
local agencies use the address designated by the Attorney
General as his or her address. When creating a new public
record, State and local agencies shall accept the address
designated by the Attorney General as a program participant's
substitute address, unless the Attorney General has
determined that:
(1) the agency has a bona fide statutory or
administrative requirement for the use of the address
that would otherwise be confidential under this Act; and
(2) this address will be used only for those
statutory and administrative purposes.
(b) A program participant may use the address designated
by the Attorney General as his or her work address.
(c) The office of the Attorney General shall forward all
first class mail to the appropriate program participants.
Section 30. Voting by program participant; use of
designated address by election authority.
(a) A program participant who is otherwise qualified to
vote may apply to vote under Article 20 of the Election Code.
The program participant shall automatically receive absentee
ballots for all elections in the jurisdictions for which that
individual resides in the same manner as absentee voters who
qualify under Article 20 of the Election Code. The Attorney
General shall adopt rules to ensure the integrity of the
voting process and the confidentiality of the program
participant. The election authority shall transmit the
absentee ballot to the program participant at the address
designated by the participant in his or her application.
Neither the name nor the address of a program participant
shall be included in any list of registered voters available
to the public.
(b) The election authority may not make the
participant's address contained in voter registration records
available for public inspection or copying except under the
following circumstances:
(1) if requested by a law enforcement agency, to
the law enforcement agency; and
(2) if directed by a court order, to a person
identified in the order.
Section 35. Disclosure of address prohibited;
exceptions.
The Attorney General may not make a program participant's
address, other than the address designated by the Attorney
General, available for inspection or copying, except under
the following circumstances:
(a) if requested by a law enforcement agency, to the law
enforcement agency;
(b) if directed by a court order, to a person identified
in the order; and
(c) if certification has been canceled.
Section 40. Assistance for program applicants.
The Attorney General shall designate State and local
agencies and nonprofit agencies that provide counseling and
shelter services to victims of domestic violence to assist
persons applying to be program participants. Any assistance
and counseling rendered by the office of the Attorney General
or its designees to applicants shall in no way be construed
as legal advice.
Section 45. Rules. The Attorney General may adopt rules
to facilitate the administration of this Act by State and
local agencies.
Section 100. The Election Code is amended by changing
Section 20-3 as follows:
(10 ILCS 5/20-3) (from Ch. 46, par. 20-3)
Sec. 20-3. The election authority shall furnish the
following applications for absentee registration or absentee
ballot which shall be considered a method of application in
lieu of the official postcard.
1. Members of the United States Service, and citizens of
the United States temporarily residing outside the
territorial limits of the United States, and certified
program participants under the Address Confidentiality for
Victims of Domestic Violence Act may make application within
the periods prescribed in Sections 20-2 or 20-2.1, as the
case may be. Such application shall be substantially in the
following form:
"APPLICATION FOR BALLOT
To be voted at the............ election in the precinct
in which is located my residence at..............., in the
city/village/township of ............(insert home address)
County of........... and State of Illinois.
I state that I am a citizen of the United States; that on
(insert date of election) I shall have resided in the State
of Illinois and in the election precinct for 30 days; that
on the above date I shall be the age of 18 years or above;
that I am lawfully entitled to vote in such precinct at that
election; that I am (check category 1, or 2, or 3 below):
1. ( ) a member of the United States Service,
2. ( ) a citizen of the United States temporarily
residing outside the territorial limits of the United States
and that I expect to be absent from the said county of my
residence on the date of holding such election, and that I
will have no opportunity to vote in person on that day.
3. ( ) a certified program participant under the
Address Confidentiality for Victims of Domestic Violence Act.
I hereby make application for an official ballot or
ballots to be voted by me at such election if I am absent
from the said county of my residence, and I agree that I
shall return said ballot or ballots to the election authority
prior to the closing of the polls on the date of the election
or shall destroy said ballot or ballots.
(Check below only if category 2 or 3 and not previously
registered)
( ) I hereby make application to become registered as a
voter and agree to return the forms and affidavits for
registration to the election authority not later than 30 days
before the election.
Under penalties as provided by law pursuant to Article 29
of The Election Code, the undersigned certifies that the
statements set forth in this application are true and
correct.
.........................
Post office address or service address to which
registration materials or ballot should be mailed
.........................
.........................
.........................
........................"
If application is made for a primary election ballot,
such application shall designate the name of the political
party with which the applicant is affiliated.
Such applications may be obtained from the election
authority having jurisdiction over the person's precinct of
residence.
2. A spouse or dependent of a member of the United
States Service, said spouse or dependent being a registered
voter in the county, may make application on behalf of said
person in the office of the election authority within the
periods prescribed in Section 20-2 which shall be
substantially in the following form:
"APPLICATION FOR BALLOT to be voted at the...........
election in the precinct in which is located the residence of
the person for whom this application is made
at.............(insert residence address) in the
city/village/township of......... County of.......... and
State of Illinois.
I certify that the following named person................
(insert name of person) is a member of the United States
Service.
I state that said person is a citizen of the United
States; that on (insert date of election) said person shall
have resided in the State of Illinois and in the election
precinct for which this application is made for 30 days; that
on the above date said person shall be the age of 18 years or
above; that said person is lawfully entitled to vote in such
precinct at that election; that said person is a member of
the United States Service, and that in the course of his
duties said person expects to be absent from his county of
residence on the date of holding such election, and that said
person will have no opportunity to vote in person on that
day.
I hereby make application for an official ballot or
ballots to be voted by said person at such election and said
person agrees that he shall return said ballot or ballots to
the election authority prior to the closing of the polls on
the day of the election, or shall destroy said ballot or
ballots.
I hereby certify that I am the (mother, father, sister,
brother, husband or wife) of the said elector, and that I am
a registered voter in the election precinct for which this
application is made. (Strike all but one that is applicable.)
Under penalties as provided by law pursuant to Article 29
of The Election Code, the undersigned certifies that the
statements set forth in this application are true and
correct.
Name of applicant ......................
Residence address ........................
City/village/township........................
Service address to which ballot should be mailed:
.........................
.........................
.........................
........................"
If application is made for a primary election ballot,
such application shall designate the name of the political
party with which the person for whom application is made is
affiliated.
Such applications may be obtained from the election
authority having jurisdiction over the voting precinct in
which the person for whom application is made is entitled to
vote.
(Source: P.A. 81-0155; 81-0953; 81-1509.)
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