“A bill to require executive agencies and Federal courts to comply with address confidentiality programs, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section requires each executive agency (as defined in 5 U.S.C. §105, excluding the Census Bureau) and federal court to accept a designated address—assigned by a state address confidentiality program (i.e., a state-implemented program providing participants a substitute address, mail-forwarding service, and a legal agent for service of process)—in lieu of a participant's physical address for any required address submission. It exempts participants from federal regulatory, civil, or criminal penalties for using a designated address and directs executive agencies to review and modify regulations as necessary to comply not later than one year after enactment. This section further requires executive agencies and federal courts seeking a participant's physical address to follow the applicable state program's procedures, deems any acquired physical address confidential and exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. §552(b)(3)), and provides exceptions allowing (1) a federal court to order disclosure in a federal criminal proceeding to relevant parties (e.g., prosecutors, law enforcement) who must keep it confidential and use it only for that purpose and (2) a federal court to order disclosure to an executive agency head's written request specifying the needed record portion and purpose to fulfill federal law requirements. It also requires prompt notification to agencies and courts upon a participant's program termination and clarifies that agencies need not submit to state audits.