Press Release

LGBTQ Record Sealing Bill Heads to The Governor

SACRAMENTO – The California Legislature passed Senator Scott Wiener’s (D-San Francisco) Senate Bills 59, the Transgender Privacy Act. With harassment and violence against transgender and nonbinary people on the rise, and an incoming Presidential Administration that is openly hostile to the transgender community, states like California must step up to defend them from abuse. SB 59 protects the privacy of transgender and nonbinary people by automatically making all court records related to their gender transition confidential and thus reducing the risk that they will be outed and exposed to danger. The bill passed the Senate 29-8 and the Assembly 56-15, and the Governor must sign or veto the bill by October 12.

“As the Trump Administration attempts to make transgender and nonbinary people the scapegoats for their fascist takeover, California must stand up to protect them,” said Senator Wiener. “Right-wing groups and individuals have used publicly available personal information to harass trans people in California and across the nation. There’s no reason this sensitive information should be public, and I have every confidence Governor Newsom will ensure the transgender community receives this basic protection.”

Harassment and violence against transgender people has been on the rise in recent years:

  • In California, hate crimes motivated by anti-transgender bias increased by 10.2% between 2022 and 2023.
  • In 2021, transgender people nationwide were over 4 times more likely to experience violent victimization, including rape, assault, and aggravated or simple assault than their cisgender peers. 
  • In 2022, 30% of transgender people nationwide reported that they were verbally harassed in the last 12 months because of their gender identity. 

President Trump has incited animosity toward transgender people, saying trans rights have “just taken over” and have “ripped our country apart”. On the campaign trail he promised to restrict transgender people’s access to healthcare and all but banish them from public life by restricting transgender youth’s expression in school and barring transgender people from participating in sports and serving in the military.

Last year, a transgender woman in California’s Stanislaus County sued for the right to seal her court records after she was subjected to harassment after being forcibly outed on social media and at work. There have been similar reports of forced outing and harassment in Washington, New York, and across the country as well. Many transgender and nonbinary people are surprised to discover that their records, including deadnames and other personal information, are discoverable via a simple Google search.

In 2017 Oregon passed a law allowing transgender people to seal court records related to their transition and New York did the same in 2021 for all transgender people who could show risk of violence or intimidation. In 2023, Washington passed a law that automatically seals the relevant court records after a judge approves the initial name and gender change.

In 2023, California passed AB 223, the Transgender Youth Privacy Act, authored by Assemblymember Chris Ward (D-San Diego). AB 223 requires courts to keep confidential any petition for a change of gender or sex identifier and name filed by a minor to protect their privacy.

SB 59 expands the protections of AB 223 to persons over 18. The changes apply retroactively to make confidential all records relating to previous name, gender, and/or sex change held by the courts.

In the 2024 case of the transgender woman in Stanislaus County, the 5th District Court of Appeal in Fresno ruled that records related to name change and gender transition could be fully sealed by the court, a process that is more comprehensive than the confidentiality proposed in SB 59. However, the decision about whether or not to seal the records is left up to the judges to determine on a case by case basis—transgender people need to know, definitively, that their records are public and request that they be sealed to gain protection.

SB 59 is co-authored by Senators Chris Cabaldon (D-West Sacramento), John Laird (D-Santa Cruz), Steve Padilla (D-San Diego), Pérez (D- Pasadena), Cervantes (D-Riverside) and Assemblymembers Alex Lee (D-Milpitas), Chris Ward (D-San Diego), José Luis Solache, Jr. (D-Lynwood), Mark Gonzalez (D-Los Angeles), Rick Zbur (D-Hollywood), Corey Jackson (D-Moreno Valley).

SB 59 is sponsored by Equality California, Secure Justice, the ACLU of Southern California, TransFamily Support Services, Trans Youth Liberation, and the Harvey Milk Democratic Club Transgender Caucus.

 

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