41-162. Address confidentiality; duties of secretary of state; application assistant; program termination

A. On or before December 31, 2012, the secretary of state shall establish the address confidentiality program to allow persons who have been subjected to domestic violence offenses, sexual offenses or stalking to keep their residence addresses confidential and not accessible to the general public. Participants in the program shall receive a substitute address that becomes the participant's lawful address of record.

B. The secretary of state shall:

1. Designate a substitute address for a program participant that is used by state and local government entities as set forth in this section.

2. Receive mail sent to a program participant at a substitute address and forward the mail to the program participant as set forth in paragraph 3 of this subsection.

3. Receive first-class, certified or registered mail on behalf of a program participant and forward the mail to the program participant for no charge. The secretary of state may arrange to receive and forward other classes or kinds of mail at the program participant's expense. The secretary of state is not required to track or otherwise maintain records of any mail received on behalf of a program participant unless the mail is certified or registered mail.

C. Notwithstanding any other law and except as provided by court rule, a program participant may be served by registered mail or by certified mail, return receipt requested, addressed to the program participant at the program participant's substitute address with any process, notice or demand required or permitted by law to be served on the program participant. This subsection does not prescribe the only means, or necessarily the required means, of serving a program participant in this state.

D. The secretary of state may designate as an application assistant any person who:

1. Provides counseling, referral or other services to victims of domestic violence, a sexual offense or stalking.

2. Completes any training and registration process required by the secretary of state.

E. Any assistance and counseling rendered by the secretary of state or an application assistant to an applicant related to this section is not legal advice.

F. The program established pursuant to this article ends on July 1, 2021 pursuant to section 41-3102.