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Committee approves change to protect addresses of domestic-violence survivors
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Summary
The Local Government Committee passed Senate Bill 191 after recorders and the Attorney General's program administrator said the bill will help ensure address-confidentiality participants' records are identified and handled in person by county offices rather than being recorded without notice.
The Local Government Committee voted unanimously to pass Senate Bill 191, a measure intended to better protect participants in the Attorney General's Address Confidentiality Program when they purchase or transfer property.
Recorders from Dearborn and Allen counties told the committee the program's notification packet sometimes followed the title company chain and did not reach county recorder offices, leaving participants' true addresses exposed in public records. "We recorded it without having knowledge they were part of that program," Dearborn County Recorder Joyce Owls said, describing how the current process can fail to flag confidential participants for county staff.
Ellen Fuller, program administrator for the Attorney General's Address Confidentiality Program, testified the bill will let participants "walk their documents into the recorder's office and into other county offices to ensure that their information is protected." Fuller said the office supports the bill as drafted and believes it will have a positive and lasting impact on participants and communities served by the program.
Supporters told the committee the program is small in absolute numbers but critical for participants' safety. Allen County Recorder Nicole Kiesling recounted a participant who said an abuser called apartment complexes and medical offices searching for her, and said participants were grateful for additional protections and title companies supported reducing liability.
The committee took a motion to pass the bill; a roll-call vote recorded the bill as passing 9' 0. The bill will proceed to the next committee step set by the legislative calendar.
The committee did not record substantive opposition during the hearing; members asked no substantive follow-up questions during testimony and moved the measure forward.
