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Rep. Murray proposes misdemeanor for elected officials who 'dox' constituents; registry officials seek exemption for public records
Summary
Rep. Alessandra Murray introduced HB 1084 to make it a misdemeanor for elected officials to publicly disclose a constituent's personal information with intent to harm; the Registry of Deeds Association urged an exemption to protect statutorily required public records from removal.
Representative Alessandra Murray, sponsor of HB 1084, told the committee the bill "creates a misdemeanor offense for any elected officials who publicly disclose or dox constituents with the intent to harm or harass that constituent." Murray described constituent cases where a public post was reshared with workplace and address details and where a person who testified publicly later lost their job.
Members questioned whether the alleged conduct involved use of official access or only public information. Murray said one instance involved use of law-enforcement access to cause termination and another involved reposting public testimony. Representative Prue asked whether the official was "trying to defend themselves" or improperly using position; Murray said she avoided naming individuals on the record but described both behind-the-scenes and public reposting incidents.
The Registry of Deeds Association (representative not named in the transcript) testified that section 4(a), which allows a constituent to request removal of personal information if they fear for safety, could be read to require removal of property-record indices and thereby undermine statutory recording duties. The witness asked for an explicit exemption so that records the registry is required to make public would remain available. Representative Murray read suggested amendment language (from the title insurance industry) clarifying that "personal information does not include information that is lawfully made available from state ... or local government records," and the Registry representative asked for registry of deeds to be added explicitly.
No final committee vote on HB 1084 appears in the provided transcript; the committee closed the public hearing and moved on to other agenda items. The bill's sponsor said the measure may be duplicative if other legislation makes doxing a standalone crime, but her intent is to protect constituents and preserve safe civic participation.
