Sec. 54-240. Definitions. As used in this chapter:
(1) "Address confidentiality program" or "program" means the program established
pursuant to this chapter;
(2) "Agency" shall have the same meaning as "public agency" or "agency", as
provided in section 1-200;
(3) "Application assistant" means a person authorized by the Secretary of the State
to assist applicants in the completion of applications for program participation;
(4) "Authorized personnel" means an employee in the office of the Secretary of the
State who has been designated by the Secretary of the State, or an employee of an agency
who has been designated by the chief executive officer of such agency, to process and
have access to records pertaining to a program participant, including, but not limited
to, voter registration applications, voting records and marriage records;
(5) "Certification card" means a card issued by the Secretary of the State pursuant
to section 54-240d;
(6) "Confidential address" means a program participant's address or addresses as
listed on such participant's application for program participation that are not to be disclosed, including such participant's residential address in this state and work and school
addresses in this state, if any;
(7) "Family violence" shall have the same meaning as provided in section 46b-38a;
(8) "Injury or risk of injury to a child" means any act or conduct that constitutes a
violation of section 53-21;
(9) "Law enforcement agency" means the office of the Attorney General, the office
of the Chief State's Attorney, the Division of State Police within the Department of
Public Safety or any municipal police department;
(10) "Marriage records" means an application for a marriage license, an issued
marriage license, a license certificate or other documents related thereto;
(11) "Program address" means the post office box number and fictitious street address assigned to a program participant by the Secretary of the State;
(12) "Program participant" or "participant" means any person certified by the Secretary of the State to participate in the address confidentiality program;
(13) "Record" shall have the same meaning as "public records or files", as provided
in section 1-200;
(14) "Sexual assault" means any act that constitutes a violation of section 53a-70,
53a-70a, 53a-70b, 53a-71, 53a-72a, 53a-72b or 53a-73a; and
(15) "Stalking" means any act that constitutes a violation of section 53a-181c, 53a-181d or 53a-181e.
(P.A. 03-200, S. 1.)
History: P.A. 03-200 effective January 1, 2004.
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Sec. 54-240a. Program purpose. Regulations. (a) There shall be an address confidentiality program established in the office of the Secretary of the State to provide a
substitute mailing address for any person who has been a victim of family violence,
injury or risk of injury to a child, sexual assault or stalking, and who wishes to keep
such person's residential address confidential because of safety concerns.
(b) The Secretary of the State shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to carry out the provisions of this chapter. Such regulations may
include, but need not be limited to, provisions for applications for participation in the
address confidentiality program, certification of program participants, certification cancellation, agency use of program addresses, forwarding of program participants' mail,
voting by program participants and recording of vital statistics for program participants.
(P.A. 03-200, S. 2.)
History: P.A. 03-200 effective January 1, 2004.
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Sec. 54-240b. Application for program participation. Application assistants.
(a) An adult person, a guardian or conservator of the person acting on behalf of an adult
person, or a parent or guardian acting on behalf of a minor may apply to the Secretary
of the State for participation in the address confidentiality program and to have the
Secretary of the State designate a program address to serve as the address of the adult
person or of the minor. Each application for program participation shall be completed
with the assistance of an application assistant.
(b) The Secretary of the State shall make available a list of entities that employ
application assistants to assist applicants in applying for participation in the address
confidentiality program, provided no entity shall be included on such list unless the
entity has received sufficient funds from federal or state sources as reimbursement for
the reasonable costs of implementing the provisions of this chapter.
(P.A. 03-200, S. 3.)
History: P.A. 03-200 effective January 1, 2004.
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Sec. 54-240c. Certification as program participant. Application requirements. The Secretary of the State shall certify an applicant or the person on whose
behalf an application is made as a program participant if the application is filed in the
manner and on the application form prescribed by the Secretary of the State and includes:
(1) A statement made under penalty of false statement, as provided in section 53a-157b, that (A) the applicant or the person on whose behalf the application is made is a
victim of family violence, injury or risk of injury to a minor, sexual assault or stalking,
and (B) the applicant fears for the applicant's safety, for the safety of the applicant's
children, for the safety of the person on whose behalf the application is made, or for the
safety of the children of the person on whose behalf the application is made;
(2) Documentation supporting the statement made pursuant to subdivision (1) of
this section;
(3) A designation of the Secretary of the State as the agent of the applicant or the
person on whose behalf the application is made for service of process and for receipt
of first class mail;
(4) The residential address in this state, the work and school addresses in this state,
if any, and the phone number or numbers, if available, that are to remain confidential,
but which may be used by the Secretary of the State or authorized personnel to contact
the applicant or the person on whose behalf the application is made; and
(5) The application preparation date, the applicant's signature and the signature of
the application assistant who assisted the applicant in completing the application.
(P.A. 03-200, S. 4.)
History: P.A. 03-200 effective January 1, 2004.
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Sec. 54-240d. Certification card. Upon certification of an applicant or a person
on whose behalf an application is made as a program participant pursuant to section 54-240c, the Secretary of the State shall issue a certification card to such applicant or person,
as appropriate. The certification card shall include the program participant's name and
signature, a certification code, the program address and the certification expiration date.
Such certification expiration date shall be four years from the date of issuance of the
certification card.
(P.A. 03-200, S. 5.)
History: P.A. 03-200 effective January 1, 2004.
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Sec. 54-240e. Program address. Forwarding of mail. (a) The Secretary of the
State shall maintain a post office box for the exclusive use of the program. The post
office box number and a fictitious street address shall be the program address for program
participants.
(b) The Secretary of the State shall open the post office box each day, other than
Saturdays, Sundays and state holidays, and retrieve the contents. All first class mail
addressed to a program participant shall be placed, unopened, into envelopes addressed
to the participant and deposited at a United States post office the same day for delivery
by first class mail to the participant at the confidential address indicated on the application by the participant or by the person applying on behalf of the participant.
(P.A. 03-200, S. 6.)
History: P.A. 03-200 effective January 1, 2004.
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Sec. 54-240f. Confidentiality of marriage records. A program participant may
request that the participant's marriage records be kept confidential by appearing in person with the participant's spouse or intended spouse before the authorized personnel
for the office of the registrar of vital statistics in the municipality where the marriage
was or is to be celebrated and presenting the participant's certification card to such
personnel. Upon such request, such registrar shall keep the participant's marriage records confidential and shall not make available for inspection or copying the name and
address of a program participant or of the participant's spouse or intended spouse contained in the participant's marriage records, except (1) if requested by a law enforcement
agency, to the law enforcement agency, (2) if directed by a court order, to a person
identified in such order, or (3) if notified by the Secretary of the State that the program
participant's certification has been cancelled.
(P.A. 03-200, S. 7.)
History: P.A. 03-200 effective January 1, 2004.
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Sec. 54-240g. Listing on voter registry list. A program participant may request
to be listed on a voter registry list without the participant's street and house number by
presenting the participant's certification card to the authorized personnel for the office
of the registrar of voters for the municipality in which the participant is eligible to vote,
or has applied for such eligibility. Upon such request, the registrar of voters shall list
the participant by name only in accordance with subsection (d) of section 9-35. Such
registrar shall keep the participant's confidential address confidential and shall not make
such address available for inspection or copying, except (1) if requested by a law enforcement agency, to the law enforcement agency, (2) if directed by a court order, to a person
identified in such order, or (3) if notified by the Secretary of the State that the program
participant's certification has been cancelled.
(P.A. 03-200, S. 8.)
History: P.A. 03-200 effective January 1, 2004.
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Sec. 54-240h. Agency use of program address. (a) A program participant may
request that an agency use the program address as the participant's residential, work or
school address for all purposes for which the agency requires or requests such residential,
work or school address. A program participant shall present the participant's certification card to any agency official creating a new record pertaining to the participant and
request the use in such record of the program address appearing on the certification
card. The agency official may make a photocopy of the certification card for the records
of the agency and thereafter shall immediately return the certification card to the program
participant.
(b) If a program participant requests that an agency use the program address pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, the agency shall accept and use the program address
as the program participant's residential, work or school address, in lieu of the participant's confidential address, unless the agency receives an exemption from such use
granted by the Secretary of the State pursuant to section 54-240i.
(P.A. 03-200, S. 9.)
History: P.A. 03-200 effective January 1, 2004.
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Sec. 54-240i. Exemption from use of program address by agency. (a) An agency
may request an exemption from the use of a program participant's program address
pursuant to section 54-240h by providing, in writing, to the Secretary of the State: (1)
Identification of the statute or regulation that specifies the agency's statutory or regulatory requirement for the use of the program participant's confidential address; (2) a
statement that the confidential address will be used only for such statutory or regulatory
purposes; (3) identification of the specific program participant with respect to whom
the exemption is requested; (4) identification of the persons who will have access to the
confidential address; and (5) an explanation of how the agency's acceptance of the
program address would prevent the agency from meeting its obligations under the law
and why it cannot meet its statutory or regulatory obligation by a change in its internal
procedures.
(b) During the review and evaluation by the Secretary of the State, and any appeal,
if applicable, of an agency's exemption request, the agency shall use the program participant's program address.
(c) The Secretary of the State's determination to grant or deny an exemption request
shall be based on, but need not be limited to, an evaluation of the information provided
by the agency pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.
(d) If the Secretary of the State determines that there is a statutory or regulatory
requirement that the agency use the program participant's confidential address and that
the confidential address will be used only to comply with such requirement, the Secretary
of the State shall issue a written exemption for the agency. The Secretary of the State
may include in the exemption (1) the agency's obligation to maintain the confidentiality
of the program participant's confidential address, (2) limitations on the use of or access
to the confidential address, (3) the term for which the exemption is granted, (4) a designation of the record format in which the confidential address may be maintained, (5) a
designation of a disposition date after which the agency may no longer maintain a record
of the participant's confidential address, and (6) any other provisions and qualifications
deemed appropriate by the Secretary of the State. Any agency that is granted an exemption may not make the program participant's confidential address available for inspection or copying by persons other than those identified in the exemption request as having
access to the confidential address, except (A) if directed by a court order, to a person
identified in such order, or (B) if notified by the Secretary of the State that the program
participant's certification has been cancelled.
(e) Prior to granting an exemption, the Secretary of the State shall notify the program
participant of the exemption, including the name of the agency and the reason or reasons
for the exemption.
(f) If the Secretary of the State determines that there is no statutory or regulatory
requirement that the agency use the program participant's confidential address, the Secretary of the State shall issue a written denial of the exemption request. Such written
denial shall include a statement of the reason or reasons for the denial.
(g) The granting or denial of the agency's exemption request pursuant to this section
constitutes a final decision. The program participant or any other party aggrieved by
such decision may appeal therefrom in accordance with the provisions of section 4-183.
(P.A. 03-200, S. 10.)
History: P.A. 03-200 effective January 1, 2004.
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Sec. 54-240j. Renewal of program certification. (a) A program participant, a
guardian or conservator of the person acting on behalf of an adult program participant,
or a parent or guardian acting on behalf of a minor program participant may apply to
renew the participant's program certification by filing with the Secretary of the State
(1) the participant's current certification card, (2) a properly completed certification
renewal form, and (3) a new certification card form. The program participant or the
person acting on behalf of the program participant shall provide all the information
required on the certification renewal form and the program participant shall sign and
date the certification card form.
(b) The Secretary of the State shall (1) certify a program participant who has satisfied
the filing requirements of subsection (a) of this section to participate in the program for
an additional four-year term, and (2) issue to such program participant a new certification
card with a new certification expiration date.
(P.A. 03-200, S. 11.)
History: P.A. 03-200 effective January 1, 2004.
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Sec. 54-240k. Cancellation of program certification. Notice. Reapplication to
program. Withdrawal from program. (a) The Secretary of the State may cancel a
program participant's certification and invalidate the participant's certification card if:
(1) The program participant changes the participant's name from the name listed
on the program application and fails to notify the Secretary of the State in writing of
the name change not later than thirty days after the change;
(2) The program participant changes the participant's confidential address from the
address listed on the program application and fails to notify the Secretary of the State
in writing of the change not later than thirty days after the change;
(3) Mail forwarded to the program participant is returned as nondeliverable;
(4) The term of the program participant's certification has expired and the participant has not applied for renewal; or
(5) The application for program participation or renewal filed by or on behalf of
the program participant contains false information.
(b) The Secretary of the State shall send written notice of cancellation to the program
participant at the confidential address shown in the Secretary of the State's records
regarding the participant. The notice shall specify the reason or reasons for cancellation.
The program participant shall have thirty days from the date the notice was mailed by
the Secretary of the State to appeal the cancellation in accordance with regulations
adopted pursuant to section 54-240a.
(c) A person may reapply to the address confidentiality program at any time after
such person's certification has been cancelled for any reason.
(d) (1) The Secretary of the State shall notify in writing the authorized personnel
of the appropriate agency when a participant's certification in the program has been
cancelled. After receipt of such notice, the agency shall not be responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the record or address of a program participant whose certification has been cancelled.
(2) If the marriage records of a program participant whose certification has been
cancelled were kept confidential pursuant to section 54-240f, the Secretary of the State
shall notify in writing the authorized personnel of the appropriate office of the registrar
of vital statistics of the cancellation.
(3) If the participant whose certification has been cancelled was listed on a voter
registry list without the participant's street and house number pursuant to section 54-240g, the Secretary of the State shall notify in writing the authorized personnel of the
appropriate office of the registrar of voters of the cancellation.
(e) A program participant may withdraw from the program by submitting to the
Secretary of the State written notice of the participant's withdrawal and the participant's
current certification card. The Secretary of the State shall cancel the participant's certification effective on the date of receipt of such notice by the Secretary of the State.
(P.A. 03-200, S. 12.)
History: P.A. 03-200 effective January 1, 2004.
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Sec. 54-240l. Secretary of the State as agent for program participant. Service
on program participant. (a) The Secretary of the State shall be a program participant's
agent upon whom any summons, writ, notice, demand or process in any action, proceeding or other matter involving the program participant shall be served.
(b) The Secretary of the State shall notify the chairperson of the State Marshal
Commission of the names of program participants and the commission shall create a
list to be used by state marshals to determine if a person upon whom process is to be
served is a program participant. If a person is identified on the list as a program participant, a state marshal shall make service upon the Secretary of the State in accordance
with subsection (c) of this section. Prior to making service, a state marshal shall verify
the participation of a specific program participant as provided in subdivision (3) of
subsection (a) of section 54-240m.
(c) A program participant may be served by any proper officer or other person
lawfully empowered to make service by leaving two true and attested copies of such
summons, writ, notice, demand or process, together with the required fee, at the office
of the Secretary of the State or depositing the same in the United States mail, by registered
or certified mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the Secretary of the State's office and
marked "Address Confidentiality Program". The Secretary of the State shall file one
copy of the summons, writ, notice, demand or process and keep a record of the date and
hour of receipt. The Secretary of the State shall, not later than two business days after
such service, forward by registered or certified mail the copy of such summons, writ,
notice, demand or process to the program participant at the confidential address shown
on the records of the Secretary of the State.
(d) Service is effective pursuant to this section as of the date and hour received by
the Secretary of the State as shown on the records of the Secretary of the State.
(P.A. 03-200, S. 13; P.A. 06-100, S. 5.)
History: P.A. 03-200 effective January 1, 2004; P.A. 06-100 added new Subsec. (b) re notification of chairperson of
State Marshal Commission of names of program participants, creation by said commission of list of program participants
to be used by state marshals and responsibilities of state marshals when a person is identified as a program participant and
redesignated existing Subsecs. (b) and (c) as Subsecs. (c) and (d), respectively, effective June 2, 2006.
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Sec. 54-240m. Confidentiality of records re program participant. Exceptions.
Notice of disclosure. (a) The Secretary of the State may not make any records in a
program participant's file, other than the program address, available for inspection or
copying, except:
(1) If requested by a law enforcement agency or by the State Elections Enforcement
Commission, to such law enforcement agency or said commission, provided the request
is in writing, on agency or commission letterhead stationery signed by the agency's
chief law enforcement officer, a commanding officer in the Division of State Police
within the Department of Public Safety or the executive director of the State Elections
Enforcement Commission, as the case may be, and contains the request date and the
name of the program participant;
(2) If directed by a court order, to a person identified in such order;
(3) To verify the participation of a specific program participant, in which case the
Secretary of the State may only confirm information supplied by the requestor; or
(4) If the program participant's certification has been cancelled.
(b) If the Secretary of the State discloses records pursuant to subdivision (2) or (3)
of subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary of the State shall forthwith notify the
program participant of such disclosure.
(P.A. 03-200, S. 14.)
History: P.A. 03-200 effective January 1, 2004.
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Sec. 54-240n. Nondisclosure of confidential address in criminal or civil proceeding. No employee of any law enforcement agency or any state or municipal social
service agency, and no other witness, shall be compelled to disclose a program participant's confidential address during the discovery phase of, or during testimony in, any
criminal or civil proceeding unless the court finds that nondisclosure may prejudice a
party to the proceeding.
(P.A. 03-200, S. 15.)
History: P.A. 03-200 effective January 1, 2004.
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Sec. 54-240o. Custody or visitation order in effect prior to or during participation in program. No custody or visitation order in effect prior to or during a person's
participation in the address confidentiality program shall be affected by such participation or by any provision of this chapter.
(P.A. 03-200, S. 16.)
History: P.A. 03-200 effective January 1, 2004.
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Secs. 54-241 to 54-249. Reserved for future use.
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