Safe at Home program technical changes passed by House

The House passed a bill Thursday that would make a number of technical changes intended to improve the state’s Safe at Home program.

Rep. Kathy Lohmer

One of the bigger changes to the program, which is designed to help protect people who fear for their safety, proposed in HF3551 is including birthdates in the secretary of state’s privately held data on the individuals. The bill would also clarify how individuals change their information with the secretary of state’s office. 

The House passed the bill, sponsored by Rep. Kathy Lohmer (R-Stillwater), 124-0. It goes to the Senate where Sen. Jerry Relph (R-St. Cloud) is the sponsor.

The Safe at Home program is predominantly for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking. Using PO boxes as primary contact information, a Safe at Home enrollee can “go about his or her daily life without leaving traces of where they can typically be located” – an attempt to keep their aggressor from locating them.

Lohmer said the program currently serves over 2,600 individuals. Minnesota is one of 34 states to have a program like it, she said.