§ 40-38-608 — Cancellation of program participant's certification - Notice of cancellation - Request to withdraw from program - Responsibility to notify others that substitute address is no longer valid

(a) The secretary of state shall cancel the certification of a program participant if any of the following are true: (1) The program participant's application contained one or more false statements; (2) The program participant failed to relocate to a new address or failed to provide documentary evidence of the new residence address to the secretary of state, in the form and manner prescribed by the secretary of state, within ninety (90) days from the date of application, unless the secretary of state determines that the program participant is currently residing at a shelter, as defined by § 71-6-202 , or a similar facility; (3) The program participant obtains a name change, unless the program participant provides the secretary of state with documentation of a legal name change within ten (10) business days of the name change; (4) The program participant's certification has expired and the program participant has not renewed the certification in accordance with § 40-38-605 ; (5) The program participant is found by the secretary of state, after proper notice, to be unreachable for a period of twenty (20) days or more, as defined by rules promulgated by the secretary of state; (6) The secretary of state becomes aware that circumstances have changed such that the participant no longer meets the criteria set forth under this part that would allow participation in the program; (7) The participant submits to the secretary of state a written, notarized request to cease being a program participant on a form prescribed by the secretary of state; (8) The program participant, who applied to participate in the program as a co-applicant, no longer has a legal spousal, parental, or fiduciary relationship that would qualify them to participate in the program as a co-applicant; or (9) The program participant, who applied to participate in the program as a co-applicant, no longer resides at the same residence as the applicant with whom the co-applicant applied. (b) The secretary of state shall send notice of certification cancellation to the program participant setting out the reasons for cancellation. The program participant has the right to appeal the cancellation and request, within thirty (30) days from the date of the notice of cancellation, a contested case hearing before an administrative law judge, in accordance with rules promulgated by the secretary of state and the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5. (c) A program participant may request to withdraw the program participant's participation in the program by submitting a written, notarized request, on a form prescribed by the secretary of state that includes all of the following: (1) The person's program participant identification number; (2) A statement that the participant wishes to cease being a program participant; (3) An acknowledgement that by withdrawing their participation, the person's address will no longer be kept confidential, the secretary of state will no longer accept or process mail received on the person's behalf, and the person's voter registration will no longer be kept confidential; and (4) A statement that the administrator of elections will either: (A) Treat the person's existing voter registration form in the same manner as other voter registration forms; or (B) Purge the participant's voter registration. (d) If an individual ceases to be a program participant, by reason of either cancellation or withdrawal, it shall be the responsibility of the individual to notify persons and entities that use the substitute address that the substitute address is no longer valid.

Legislative History

Amended by 2021 Tenn. Acts, ch. 140, s 10, eff. 4/13/2021. Amended by 2020 Tenn. Acts, ch. 577, Secs.s4, s5 eff. 3/19/2020. Added by 2018 Tenn. Acts, ch. 1004, s 1, eff. 3/1/2019.