California Public Records Act: elected or appointed officials.

Assembly Member Pacheco's proposal to expand privacy protections under the California Public Records Act would extend existing disclosure exemptions to retired judges, court commissioners, and children's counsel appointed in family court proceedings.

The measure modifies the definition of "elected or appointed official" to include retired state and federal judges, retired federal defenders, and retired tribal court judges. This classification determines which officials' personal information, such as home addresses and telephone numbers, remains exempt from public disclosure requirements. The bill also adds court-appointed children's counsel in family and dependency proceedings to the protected category.

According to the bill's legislative findings, these modifications aim to shield officials and their families from potential harassment or targeted violence. The measure maintains existing criminal penalties for unauthorized disclosure of protected information, though it specifies that local agencies will not require state reimbursement for implementation costs since the changes only affect the scope of existing criminal provisions.