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Bill

HSB 74

A bill for an act relating to the address confidentiality program.

2025-2026 Regular Session

Expands address confidentiality for ACP participants, enabling shelter addresses and mail holds, while preserving absentee voting and canceling out-of-state registrations when need

Committee report approving bill, renumbered as HF 397.
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Bill Summary · HSB 74

Summary: HF 397 (formerly HSB 74) – Address Confidentiality Program

Note: This bill was introduced as HSB 74 on January 23, 2025 and was renumbered by a committee to HF 397.

Purpose and intent

  • Modernize and strengthen the address confidentiality program (ACP) overseen by the Secretary of State to better protect victims and others needing confidentiality.
  • Expand how a participant’s whereabouts can be kept confidential, while providing a mechanism for confidential voting.

Key provisions

1) Voting and absentee voting for program participants

  • Amends Section 9E.6, subsection 2, paragraph a, to allow a program participant who is otherwise eligible to vote to annually register with the state election administrator as an absentee voter for the length of the participant’s certification period.
  • Before each election, the state commissioner of elections must:
    • Determine the precinct associated with the participant’s residential address.
    • Request and receive the ballot for that precinct from the county commissioner of elections.
    • Forward the absentee ballot to the participant with other absentee voting materials required by law (section 53.8).

2) Cancellation of voter registration in other states

  • Adds a new paragraph stating that the state or county commissioner of elections shall cancel a program participant’s voter registration upon becoming aware that the participant is registered to vote in another state.

3) Expanded address confidentiality features and mail handling

  • Allows the Secretary of State to accept as the participant’s residential or mailing address the name and contact information of a shelter where the participant resides, in lieu of the shelter’s physical address.
  • Provides authority to cancel an adult participant’s certification or a deceased participant’s certification upon receiving reliable information.
  • Allows a participant’s mail to be held for up to 30 days at the participant’s request.

Who is affected

  • Individuals enrolled in the address confidentiality program (victims of domestic abuse, sexual abuse, assault, stalking, human trafficking, or others fearing for safety) and their household members.
  • Election administrators and county election officials, who administer absentee voting and ensure confidentiality.

Implementation timeline and procedural notes

  • Introduced: January 23, 2025, referred to State Government.
  • Subcommittee: January 23, 2025 (meeting January 30, 2025).
  • Subcommittee recommendation: January 30, 2025.
  • Committee action:
    • Substantive recommendation: January–February 2025.
    • Committee report approving bill and renumbering to HF 397: February 12–13, 2025.
    • Vote: Yeas 23, Nays 0 (February 12, 2025).
  • Status: Committee report approving bill, renumbered as HF 397.

Potential impact

  • Enhances safety and confidentiality for ACP participants by expanding permissible address use (shelter information), optional mail holds, and automatic cancellation procedures based on new information.
  • Maintains voting access for participants via absentee ballots while preserving confidentiality, with a process to ensure ballots are sent to the participant’s confidential address.
  • Aims to reduce risk of exposure from public voter rolls and mailing addresses while ensuring compliance with election laws (including removal of registrations in other states when applicable).

If enacted, the bill would become law and apply to ACP participants and relevant election administration procedures.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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