This bill amends an existing law, RCW 40.24.030, which governs Washington’s address confidentiality program. It adds or clarifies who may apply to have the secretary of state’s designated address serve as their address for the program, explicitly including persons appointed to positions under RCW 34.12.030 and people living with certain covered persons identified by cross-reference to other RCWs. The amendment specifies required contents of an application (including sworn statements, designation of the secretary of state as agent for service of process and mail, the applicant’s residential address and confidential contact number, and signatures), establishes that a properly completed application results in certification as a participant, and sets certification to last four years unless withdrawn or invalidated, with the secretary of state required to adopt a renewal rule. The bill creates procedural changes between the secretary of state and the Department of Licensing: the secretary of state must provide an optional form directing the Department of Licensing to change vehicle and vessel registration and driver’s license/identicard addresses to the program address if the applicant signs it; the directive may include only specified identity and vehicle/vessel identifiers; the secretary of state must transmit signed directives upon certification; and the Department of Licensing must update records within 30 days of receiving a completed signed directive. Applicants may be certified without signing the Department of Licensing directive. The bill also states that knowingly providing false or incorrect information on the application, or falsely attesting that disclosure would endanger specified persons, is punishable under RCW 40.16.030 or other applicable statutes. The text references other statutes for definitions and for who is covered (RCW 11.130.010; RCW 9A.46.020; RCW 9A.90.120; RCW 7.115.010; RCW 34.12.030) but does not itself define those categories. The extract does not show which positions RCW 34.12.030 covers or the full statutory definitions of the referenced categories, so it is unclear from this text alone exactly which administrative law judges, staff, or other individuals are added without consulting those cited RCWs.

If enacted, more people (including those appointed under RCW 34.12.030, likely Office of Administrative Hearings personnel) would be able to use the secretary of state’s address as their public address and could choose to have their driver’s license and vehicle/vessel records updated to that address. That gives eligible applicants a clearer option to protect home address information and lasts four years per certification; the secretary of state must provide the directive form and set up a renewal process, and the Department of Licensing must change records within 30 days when it receives a completed, signed directive. Applicants aren’t required to sign the licensing directive to join the program, but knowingly giving false information can lead to criminal penalties. Practically, the secretary of state will see increased application processing, form handling, and rulemaking work, and the Department of Licensing will have a recurring operational task to update records within a 30-day window, which could create modest administrative costs or workload shifts. Individuals added by reference to RCW 34.12.030 (and other categories cited) would gain a privacy option, but the exact job titles covered and the detailed definitions of some beneficiary groups aren’t included here, so who is precisely eligible remains unclear without reviewing those other statutes.