SF3872

Purpose

This bill aims to strengthen public safety data protections, update terminology and practices for domestic abuse and battered women programs, and create new offices to address missing and murdered Indigenous people and Black women and girls. It also updates residency rules for public assistance and voting-related processes to improve access for people in shelters or other living facilities.

Main Provisions

• Data privacy and research

  • Reclassifies certain Department of Public Safety data as private or confidential, limiting access.
  • Allows limited release to law enforcement or for enforcement of specific laws, and restricts the sale of Social Security numbers.
  • Creates a framework for using DPS data for research, research data, and reporting, while protecting individuals’ identities.
  • Includes special handling rules for victim-related data and for data about victims of certain crimes, including sex offender HIV test results and battered women/domestic abuse victim data.

• Offices to aid missing persons

  • Establishes Office for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (OMIR) and Office for Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls (OMMBWG).
  • Data related to victim support collected or maintained in these offices follows existing state data protection rules.

• Victim and crime data protections

  • Defines how crime victim data (including notices of offender release, victim identity data, and related claims) are handled and protected.
  • Sets rules around data from victims of domestic abuse and battered women supported by grantees.

• Education, prevention, and services for victims

  • Expands violence prevention initiatives in schools, including curricula on nonviolent conflict resolution, harassment prevention, and safety for students.
  • Requires parenting time centers to offer services and staff with expertise on battered women and domestic abuse victims.

• Residency and public assistance

  • Expands how residency is determined for general assistance programs to count time spent in shelters for battered women and other domestic abuse victims toward the required residency period.
  • Allows waivers if unusual hardship would result from denying assistance (with safeguards and reporting requirements).
  • Defines “excluded time” for residency purposes to include time in shelters, hospitals, and other specified facilities, while excluding certain other periods.
  • Applies similar residency rules to migrant workers and specifies when waivers are or are not allowed.

• Voting accessibility for people in shelters and facilities

  • Allows election day registration and proof of residence for people living in residential facilities (e.g., shelters, health care facilities) and requires appropriate identification.
  • Permits (and details) the delivery of absentee ballots to voters in shelters or certain facilities when eligible, with procedures to ensure security and proper handling.
  • Requires two election judges from different major parties to accompany ballot delivery to eligible voters in specified facilities and mandates secure return of ballots.

• Additional related provisions

  • Adjusts specific statutes related to family violence waivers for employment activities, including acceptable forms of documentation and sworn statements.
  • Addresses related infrastructure and administration issues tied to domestic violence and victim support services, including references to paternity education materials.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Data governance and privacy

  • Expanded private/confidential data classifications for DPS data and introduced explicit research data provisions.
  • Clarified and broadened protections for victim- and family-related information under multiple statutes.

• New victim-support offices

  • Creates formal offices dedicated to missing Indigenous relatives and missing Black women and girls, with data handling aligned to existing privacy laws.

• Residency for public benefits

  • Explicitly counts shelter residency (especially for domestic abuse survivors) toward the 30-day residency requirement for general assistance programs.
  • Provides waivers for unusual hardship and clarifies exclusions and reporting for residency determinations.

• Election access for shelter residents

  • Modernizes election day registration and absentee ballot procedures to accommodate voters in shelters and similar facilities.
  • Allows designated staff at residential facilities to assist with voting processes under defined rules, including the use of two election judges for ballot delivery.

• Violence prevention and community programs

  • Elevates the role of violence prevention in K-12 education and strengthens collaboration with domestic violence programs and shelters.

• Targeted services for domestic abuse survivors

  • Requires service centers and parenting time centers to incorporate staff knowledgeable about battered women and domestic abuse victims and to provide relevant educational offerings.

Who is Affected

• Victims of domestic violence and battered women
• Survivors living in shelters or residential facilities
• Shelter staff, providers, and program administrators
• Students and school districts
• Public benefit applicants and recipients (general assistance)
• Residents who rely on absentee voting or on residency-based requirements
• Law enforcement and government agencies handling victim data

Relevant Terms - public safety data - private data - confidential data - Social Security numbers - data for research - Office for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (OMIR) - Office for Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls (OMMBWG) - victims of domestic abuse - battered women - family violence waiver - notice of release (crime victims) - 30-day residency requirement - shelter for battered women - domestic abuse victims - excluded time - unusual hardship - migrant workers - residency verification - election day registration - proof of residence - residential facility - two election judges - absentee ballots - health care facility - shelters - vouching for residency - delivery of absentee ballots - gaming of absentee ballots safeguards (as described) - paternity educational materials