Bill > SB59

This bill expands confidentiality protections for court records related to name and gender changes for transgender and nonbinary individuals across all ages. The legislation requires court records for name or gender identifier changes to be kept confidential, limiting access to only specific individuals like the petitioner, their attorneys, and parents (in cases involving minors). The bill applies to petitions filed on or after July 1, 2026, and allows individuals with previous petitions to request their records be made confidential. It prohibits anyone other than the petitioner from publicly posting these confidential records online or elsewhere, with significant legal consequences for violations. Violators could face civil actions resulting in damages of at least $5,000, punitive damages, and attorney's fees. The bill is motivated by rising discrimination and violence against transgender individuals, with supporting data showing increased hate crimes and higher rates of harassment. The legislation explicitly states that a transgender person's gender identity is intimate personal information entitled to privacy protection, and aims to safeguard individuals from potential harm caused by unauthorized disclosure of their personal information. The bill goes into immediate effect as an urgency statute to address the growing risks faced by the transgender community.

Budget and Finance, Justice

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB59