AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 2, 2026

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 9, 2026

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

97

Introduced by Assembly Member Pacheco

(Coauthor: Assembly Member Zbur)

February 19, 2026

An act to add Chapter 3.4 (commencing with Section 6225) to Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, relating to confidentiality.

Vote: majority   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: yes   Local program: yes

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

Existing law, the California Public Records Act, requires state and local agencies to make their records available for public inspection, unless an exemption from disclosure applies. Existing law authorizes a person who faces violence, harassment, or threats of violence from the public because of their work for a public entity to apply to the Secretary of State for the purposes of enabling state and local agencies to respond to requests for public records without disclosing a program participant’s residence address contained in any public record and otherwise provide for confidentiality of identity for that person, subject to specified conditions. Under existing law, any person who makes a false statement in an application is guilty of a misdemeanor.

This bill would establish the Judicial Home Security Act, which would require the Attorney General to establish a program for the Judicial Home Security Program under which a judicial officer, including a current an imminent, current, or former superior court judge or district court judge, or an adult household member of a judicial officer who is domiciled in California to prevent disclosure of their home address by a state or local agency. In this regard, if the Attorney General approves a judicial officer to participate in the program, the bill would authorize the judicial officer to require, upon their request, that a state or local agency substitute a designated alternate address for their home address referenced in any records that are made public. may request their home address in public records to be shielded or substituted with an alternate mailing address, as specified. The bill would establish the Judicial Home Security Program Fund in the General Fund and would authorize moneys in the fund to be made available for the administration of the program upon appropriation by the Legislature.

The bill would require the Attorney General to approve an application to the program if it is filed in the manner and on the form prescribed by the Attorney General and contains prescribed information, including documentation showing the individual is or will be household contains an individual who is a judicial officer and a sworn signed statement that the applicant fears for their safety or the safety of their family due to their a household member of the applicant due to the employment as a of the judicial officer. The bill would require the application to be dated and signed under penalty of perjury, signed, and would make knowingly providing false or incorrect information in the application a misdemeanor. The bill would require the Attorney General to commence accepting applications under the program on April 1, 2027.

The bill would require the Attorney General to create, maintain, and update monthly a publicly available list that includes the name, county of residence, and designated alternate mailing address of each current program participant. The bill would also require the Attorney General to create, maintain, and update monthly a publicly available list that includes former participants who are no longer in the program, and make the list available to state and local agencies and third-party data brokers and aggregators, as specified. program.

The bill would require, when disclosing or releasing records or information that would otherwise contain the home address of a program participant in any format or medium, a state or local agency to substitute the participant’s alternate mailing address for any reference to the participant’s home address. The bill bill would require, when disclosing or releasing records or information that would otherwise contain the situs of the home address of a program participant in any format or medium, a county assessor’s office to substitute the program participant’s alternate mailing address for the situs of the home address on assessment rolls, maps, property ownership statements and records, and any other records containing the home address of a program participant.

The bill would require, when disclosing or releasing releasing, in any format or medium, records or information that would otherwise contain the situs of the home address of a program participant in any format or medium, who requests shielding, a county assessor assessor’s office and a county recorder recorder’s office to substitute the program participant’s alternate mailing address for the situs address on shield the participant’s public record, including real property deeds, real estate records, and any other records containing the home address of a program participant. In this regard, the bill would require a program participant to submit a request containing a list of documents to be shielded, a sworn statement attesting to the accuracy of the information provided, and payment of a fee, as specified. The bill would authorize a program participant to submit a request to update the list of documents to be shielded, a specified. The bill would require the county assessor’s office and county recorder’s office to validate and shield any requested records within 5 business days of receipt of a request for shielding. The bill would authorize making any original documents available only to specified persons or in specified circumstances.

The bill would prohibit the disclosure of a participant’s home address by the Attorney General and state and local agencies, except in specified circumstances. The bill would prohibit a person or organization from publicly posting or displaying the home address of a program participant who has made a written demand of that person or organization, including on the internet, and would prohibit a third-party data broker or aggregator from selling, licensing, trading, purchasing, transferring, releasing, or otherwise sharing in any format or medium, the home address of a program participant, including on the internet. internet, except as specified.

The bill would authorize the Attorney General to adopt guidance to facilitate the administration of the act by state and local agencies. The bill would require the Attorney General, beginning January 10, 2028, and no later than January 10 of each year thereafter, to submit to the Legislature a report that includes the total number of applications received for the program. define terms for its purposes.

By imposing new duties on local agencies, expanding the scope of the crime of perjury, and creating a crime, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.

Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this purpose.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Chapter 3.4 (commencing with Section 6225) is added to Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, to read:

Chapter 3.4. The Judicial Home Security Act

6225.

This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Judicial Home Security Act.

6225.1.

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) The Legislature finds that persons employed as judicial officers in California are subject to an increased risk of threats or actual violence against themselves and their families. household members. As public officials responsible for the functioning of the judicial system, judicial officers have a uniquely high level of exposure to the public and the criminal justice system. Persons and groups might attempt to subvert, delay, or otherwise impede the justice system by threatening or intimidating judicial officers. These individuals or groups may also threaten or take violent action against judicial officers or their families household members as retribution for past rulings or judicial actions. The threat of violence towards judicial officers and their families household members extends beyond the courtroom and into the home. The purpose of this chapter is to enable state and local agencies to respond to requests for public records without disclosing or referencing in any way the home addresses of judicial officers or adult household members of judicial officers who are in the Judicial Home Security Program, to enable interagency cooperation with the Attorney General in providing home address confidentiality for these judicial officers, officers or household members, and to enable state and local agencies to substitute mailing addresses for any reference to home addresses of these judicial officers or household members in records that are made public.

(b) The Legislature finds that judicial officers and household members of judicial officers are subject to such serious and detrimental risks of threats and violence that the public interest in justice and fairness under the law clearly outweighs the public interest served by disclosure of judicial officers’ home addresses. Any reference to judicial officers’ home addresses is thus entitled to exemption from the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1).

6225.2.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(a) “Alternate mailing address” means a United States Postal Service post office box or personal mailbox provided by a private company.

(c) “Cohabitant” has the same meaning as in subdivision (b) of Section 18291 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

(d) “Domicile” means a place of habitation as defined in Section 349 of the Elections Code.

(e) “Home address” includes any reference to all of the following, as specified on the individual’s application to be a program participant under this chapter:

(1) A property address.

(2) A common street address.

(3) An assessor’s parcel number.

(4) A property legal description.

(f) (1) “Household member” means an adult member of the applicant” and “household member of the participant” mean a person who resides at the same home address as the applicant or participant and is related to the applicant or participant by blood, marriage, registered domestic partnership, or adoption, or is a cohabitant of an applicant or participant.

(g) “Judicial officer” means a person who will be imminently employed, is currently employed employed, or was formerly employed as any of the following:

(1) A supreme court justice.

(2) A court of appeal judge or justice.

(3) A superior court or district court judge.

(4) A municipal court judge.

(5) A court commissioner or court magistrate.

(6) A federal, state, or local agency judge.

(7) A tribal judge.

(h) “Program participant” means a person certified as a program participant under this chapter.

6225.3.

(a) An adult person A judicial officer or an adult household member of a judicial officer who is domiciled in California may apply to the Attorney General to have a designated alternate mailing address substituted for any reference to the person’s home address in records that are made public. be accepted into the Judicial Home Security Program established pursuant to this chapter. The home address of an accepted program participant shall be substituted with an alternate mailing address pursuant to this chapter. An accepted program participant also may request shielding of public records pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 6225.6. The Attorney General shall approve an application if it is filed in the manner and on the form prescribed by the Attorney General and if it contains all of the following:

(1) Documentation showing that the individual is to commence employment as or household contains an individual who is a judicial officer.

(2) A sworn signed statement that the applicant fears for their safety or the safety of their family a household member of the applicant due to their the employment as a of the judicial officer.

(3) (A) The alternate mailing address requested for substitution for any reference to the person’s applicant’s home address in public records. or a request for shielding of public records as described in Section 6225.6. The application shall include documentation issued by the United States Postal Service or the personal mailbox rental company confirming the mailbox is rented to the applicant or a household member of the applicant.

(B) The Attorney General shall not approve an application if the alternate mailing address is any address other than a post office box or personal mailbox, or if it is a post office box or mailbox rented by anyone other than the applicant or a household member of the applicant.

(4) The telephone numbers and email addresses where the applicant can be reached by the Attorney General.

(5) The home address that the applicant requests not be disclosed because disclosure will increase the risk of harassment, threats, or violence against the applicant or their family. a household member of the applicant.

(6) The signature of the applicant under penalty of perjury and the date on which the applicant signed the application.

(b) Applications shall be filed with the office of the Attorney General.

(c) (1) Submitted applications shall be accompanied by payment of a fee to be determined by the Attorney General. This fee shall not exceed the actual costs of enrolling in the program.

(2) The Attorney General may assess an annual fee to a program participant in an amount to defray the actual costs of maintaining this program and to reimburse the General Fund for any amounts expended from that fund for the purposes of this chapter.

(d) The Judicial Home Security Program Fund is hereby created in the General Fund. All moneys collected by the Attorney General pursuant to this chapter shall be deposited into the fund. Upon appropriation by the Legislature, moneys in the fund are available for the administration of the program established pursuant to this chapter.

(e) Upon filing a properly completed application, the Attorney General shall certify the applicant as a program participant. Program participants shall be certified for life, unless and until the certification is withdrawn or terminated pursuant to Section 6225.4.

(f) The Attorney General shall issue a certified program participant documentation that they are a certified program participant, which shall include, but not be limited to, both of the following:

(1) A program participant identification card listing their alternate mailing address.

(2) A standing authorization by the Attorney General for the program participant to request shielding of public records where the home address is contained and to use the alternate mailing address for all protections offered by the program.

(g) A person who knowingly provides false or incorrect information upon making an application is guilty of a misdemeanor. A notice shall be printed in bold type and in a conspicuous location on the face of the application informing the applicant of the penalties for a violation of this subdivision.

(h) A program participant may update their home address or alternate mailing address in the program by submitting to the Attorney General written notification of the same with the participant’s current identification card. The Attorney General shall issue a new identification card.

6225.4.

(a) A program participant may withdraw from program participation by submitting to the Attorney General written notification of withdrawal and the program participant’s current identification card. Certification shall be terminated and notification shall be forwarded to the appropriate state or local agency on the date of receipt of this notification.

(b) The Attorney General may terminate a program participant’s certification and invalidate the program participant’s authorization card for any of the following reasons:

(1) The program participant has failed to pay their annual program fee. Before terminating a participant’s certification due to a lapse in payment, the Attorney General shall attempt to contact the participant by telephone and email, if available, to resolve the payment issue.

(2) The Attorney General has been informed that another state agency has determined that false information was used in the application process to qualify as a program participant or that participation in the program is being used as a subterfuge to avoid detection of illegal or criminal activity or apprehension by law enforcement.

(3) The program participant no longer resides at the most recent home address provided to the Attorney General and has not provided notice in writing of a change in address within 30 days of the change of their home address.

(4) The United States Postal Service or the personal mailbox rental company responsible for the alternate mailing address of a program participant informs the Attorney General that the alternate mailing address is no longer rented in the name of the program participant or their a household member. member of the participant.

(5) The program participant moves from their California place of residence to relocate out of state.

(c) If intended termination is based on any of the reasons under subdivision (b), the Attorney General shall send written notification of the intended termination to the program participant. The program participant shall have 30 days in which to appeal the intended termination under procedures developed by the Attorney General.

6225.5.

(a) (1) The Attorney General shall create, maintain, and update monthly a list that includes all of the following information for each current program participant:

(A) Name.

(B) County of residence.

(C) Designated alternate mailing address.

(2) The list shall be publicly available for compliance purposes.

(b) The Attorney General shall create, maintain, and update monthly a list that includes former program participants who are no longer in the program, regardless of the reason. The list shall be available to state and local agencies and third-party data brokers and aggregators for compliance purposes. publicly available.

6225.6.

(a) When disclosing or releasing records or information that would otherwise contain the home address of a program participant in any format or medium, state and local agencies shall substitute the program participant’s alternate mailing address for any reference to the program participant’s home address.

(c) When disclosing or releasing releasing, in any format or medium, records or information that would otherwise contain the situs of the home address of a program participant in any format or medium, who requests shielding pursuant to this subdivision, a county assessor assessor’s office and a county recorder recorder’s office shall substitute the program participant’s alternate mailing address for the situs address on shield the participant’s public record, including real property deeds, real estate records, and any other records containing the home address of a program participant.

6225.7.

When a program participant leaves the program, regardless of the reason, the Attorney General and state and local agencies shall retain all records relating to that program participant for at least three years from departure.

6225.8.

(a) The Attorney General and state and local agencies shall not allow disclosure or release of a program participant’s home address except under either any of the following circumstances:

(1) If requested by any of the following entities:

(A) A law enforcement agency, to the law enforcement agency.

(B) A consumer reporting agency, as defined in Section 1681a of Title 15 of the United States Code.

(C) A financial institution subject to the federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (Public Law 106-102) and regulations implementing that act.

(D) A title company.

(E) An attorney representing a client in any of the following matters:

(i) Estate planning.

(ii) Judgment enforcement.

(iii) Bankruptcy debtor or trustee representation.

(iv) A real estate transaction.

(F) A real estate licensee, as defined in Section 10014 of the Business and Professions Code.

(2) If directed by a court order, to a person identified in the order.

(b) Nothing in this section should be construed as prohibiting an address to name search of real estate records, meaning a search of real estate records or address information based solely on a property address. This section is intended to expressly prohibit disclosure or release of a home address based on a program participant’s name, including a search of real estate records or address information based on a program participant’s name.

6225.9.

(a) A person or organization shall not publicly post or display the home address of a program participant who has made a written demand of that person or organization, including on the internet.

(b) A third-party data broker or aggregator shall not sell, license, trade, purchase, transfer, release, or otherwise share in any format or medium the home address of a program participant, including on the internet. internet, unless the sale, license, trade, purchase, transfer, release, or other sharing is an activity or purpose recognized under Sections 1798.105, 1798.145, or 1798.146 of the Civil Code.

6225.10.

Certification as a program participant shall not be evidence that minor children in the program participant’s custody are at risk in the participant’s care.

6225.11.

The Attorney General may adopt guidance to facilitate the administration of this chapter by state and local agencies.

6225.12.

(a)The Attorney General shall commence accepting applications under this the program established pursuant to this chapter on April 1, 2027.

SEC. 2.

The Legislature finds and declares that this act imposes a limitation on the public’s right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the following findings to demonstrate the interest protected by this limitation and the need for protecting that interest:

The public interest in nondisclosure of judicial home addresses clearly outweighs the public interest in disclosure. Nondisclosure supports judicial security, judicial integrity, and public trust in the rule of law, whereas disclosure increases the documented risk of violence against judicial officers.

SEC. 3.

The Legislature finds and declares that this act furthers, within the meaning of paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution, the purposes of that constitutional section as it relates to the right of public access to the meetings of local public bodies or the writings of local public officials and local agencies. Pursuant to paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution, the Legislature makes the following findings:

The public interest in nondisclosure of judicial home addresses clearly outweighs the public interest in disclosure. Nondisclosure supports judicial security, judicial integrity, and public trust in the rule of law, whereas disclosure increases the documented risk of violence against judicial officers.

SEC. 4.

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution for certain costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district because, in that regard, this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.

However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.