CA SB 59

enacted

Change of name or gender and sex identifier.

California · 2025-2026 Regular Session · upper

Description

Existing law authorizes a person to file a petition with the superior court seeking a judgment recognizing their change of gender to female, male, or nonbinary, including a person who is under 18 years of age. Existing law authorizes a person to file a single petition to simultaneously change the petitioner's name and recognize the change to the petitioner's gender and sex identifier, as specified. Existing law requires that either of those petitions, if filed by a person under 18 years of age, and any papers associated with the proceeding, be kept confidential by the court. Existing law requires the court to limit access to these records to specified individuals, including, among others, the minor, the minor's parents, and their attorney. This bill would expand the above-described confidentiality protections to other petitioners regardless of age. The bill would also expand these protections to court records associated with a proceeding under separate provisions of existing law for a change of name to conform a petitioner's name to their gender identity. The bill would require the court to limit access to the court records in these proceedings to certain individuals, as specified. The bill would apply these confidentiality provisions in the case of (1) a petition filed on or after July 1, 2026; (2) a petition filed before July 1, 2026, if the petitioner files a request to keep the records confidential, as specified; or (3) records that were previously made confidential by statute or otherwise. The bill would prohibit a person or private entity, other than the petitioner, from publicly posting one of the above-described confidential records on the internet or otherwise. The bill would make a violation of these confidentiality requirements an injury and, commencing 6 months after the effective date of this bill, would authorize a person or entity to institute proceedings for injunctive relief, declaratory relief, or a writ of mandate to enforce them. The bill would require a court to award reasonable attorney's fees and costs to a plaintiff who prevails on a cause of action against a private party pursuant to this authority. The bill would also authorize a petitioner who has been harmed by a disclosure or continuing disclosure of records, as specified, to, commencing 6 months after the effective date of this bill, bring a civil action against a person or private entity that caused the harm. The bill would require a person or private entity found liable to pay actual damages or statutory damages, punitive damages, and reasonable attorney's fees and costs, as specified. The bill would, on or before July 1, 2026, require the Judicial Council, as necessary, to develop forms and rules to implement the bill's provisions. Under the bill, nothing in these provisions would preclude a court from granting a motion to seal all court records of a person's change of name or gender and sex identifier, or both, pursuant to a specified California Rule of Court. The bill would state that whether a transgender person's gender identity conforms with their assigned sex at birth is intimate personal information entitled to protection under the right to privacy, and that a transgender person has a privacy interest in concealing their transgender identity. The bill would make legislative findings and declarations in support of its provisions. The bill would declare that its provisions are severable. 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Introduced: 2025-01-08
Status date: —
Latest action: 2025-10-13 — Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 738, Statutes of 2025.
Bill type: bill
Last updated: —

Subjects

Changeofnameorgenderandsexidentifier

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

2025-01-08
Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.
introduction,reading-1,referral-committee
2025-01-09
From printer. May be acted upon on or after February 8.
2025-01-29
Referred to Com. on JUD.
referral-committee
2025-03-20
From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on JUD.
amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2025-04-08
Set for hearing April 22.
2025-04-10
From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on JUD.
amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2025-04-23
From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 11. Noes 2. Page 833.) (April 22).
amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2025-04-24
Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2025-04-29
Set for hearing May 5.
2025-05-05
May 5 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
2025-05-16
Set for hearing May 23.
2025-05-23
From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 5. Noes 1. Page 1190.) (May 23).
amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2025-05-23
Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.
amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2
2025-05-27
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
reading-1,reading-2,reading-3
2025-06-02
Read third time. Urgency clause adopted. Passed. (Ayes 28. Noes 10. Page 1372.) Ordered to the Assembly.
amendment-passage,passage,reading-1,reading-3
2025-06-03
In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
reading-1
2025-06-09
Referred to Com. on JUD.
referral-committee
2025-06-17
From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 1.) (June 17).
amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2025-06-18
Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2025-08-20
August 20 set for first hearing. Placed on APPR. suspense file.
2025-08-29
From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 11. Noes 4.) (August 29).
amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2025-09-02
Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.
amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2
2025-09-03
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
reading-1,reading-2,reading-3
2025-09-12
Read third time. Urgency clause adopted. Passed. (Ayes 60. Noes 16. Page 3410.) Ordered to the Senate.
amendment-passage,passage,reading-1,reading-3
2025-09-13
In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.
2025-09-13
Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 29. Noes 8. Page 3036.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.
amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2025-09-23
Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 2 p.m.
executive-receipt
2025-10-13
Approved by the Governor.
executive-signature
2025-10-13
Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 738, Statutes of 2025.
became-law

Versions

01/08/25 - Introduced — 2025-01-08Compare
03/20/25 - Amended Senate — 2025-03-20Compare
04/10/25 - Amended Senate — 2025-04-10Compare
04/24/25 - Amended Senate — 2025-04-24Compare
05/23/25 - Amended Senate — 2025-05-23Compare
06/18/25 - Amended Assembly — 2025-06-18Compare
09/02/25 - Amended Assembly — 2025-09-02Compare
09/17/25 - Enrolled — 2025-09-17Compare
10/13/25 - Chaptered — 2025-10-13Compare
SB59Compare
(document, no version)Compare

Documents

Votes

Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Appropriations]
2025-04-22 · pass · 11-2
Member-level votes (13)
- Allen: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Umberg: yes
- Durazo: yes
- Caballero: yes
- Laird: yes
- Arreguín: yes
- Stern: yes
- Weber Pierson: yes
- Ashby: yes
- Wiener: yes
- Valladares: no
- Niello: no
Placed on suspense file
2025-05-05 · pass · 7-0
Member-level votes (7)
- Richardson: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Seyarto: yes
- Caballero: yes
- Dahle: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
- Wahab: yes
Do pass as amended
2025-05-23 · pass · 5-1
Member-level votes (7)
- Caballero: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
- Richardson: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Seyarto: no
- Dahle: other
3rd Reading SB59 Wiener et al. Urgency Clause
2025-06-02 · pass · 28-10
Member-level votes (40)
- Menjivar: yes
- Pérez: yes
- Rubio: yes
- Padilla: yes
- Cervantes: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Smallwood-Cuevas: yes
- Wiener: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Cortese: yes
- Ashby: yes
- Gonzalez: yes
- Arreguín: yes
- Archuleta: yes
- Umberg: yes
- Becker: yes
- Laird: yes
- Durazo: yes
- McGuire: yes
- Blakespear: yes
- McNerney: yes
- Limón: yes
- Allen: yes
- Caballero: yes
- Stern: yes
- Weber Pierson: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
- Richardson: yes
- Ochoa Bogh: no
- Niello: no
- Seyarto: no
- Valladares: no
- Alvarado-Gil: no
- Grove: no
- Dahle: no
- Strickland: no
- Choi: no
- Jones: no
- Hurtado: other
- Reyes: other
Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]
2025-06-17 · pass · 9-1
Member-level votes (12)
- Pacheco: yes
- Connolly: yes
- Zbur: yes
- Bauer-Kahan: yes
- Stefani: yes
- Kalra: yes
- Bryan: yes
- Harabedian: yes
- Papan: yes
- Sanchez: no
- Macedo: other
- Dixon: other
Do pass as amended.
2025-08-29 · pass · 11-4
Member-level votes (15)
- Elhawary: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Fong: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Arambula: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Ahrens: yes
- Solache: yes
- Sanchez: no
- Ta: no
- Tangipa: no
- Dixon: no
SB 59 Wiener Third Reading Urgency By Mark González
2025-09-13 · pass · 60-16
Member-level votes (80)
- Ahrens: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Quirk-Silva: yes
- Gipson: yes
- Rogers: yes
- Addis: yes
- Ward: yes
- Haney: yes
- Hart: yes
- Fong: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Wilson: yes
- Carrillo: yes
- Bains: yes
- Ransom: yes
- Soria: yes
- Michelle Rodriguez: yes
- Berman: yes
- Valencia: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Celeste Rodriguez: yes
- Arambula: yes
- Connolly: yes
- Schultz: yes
- Bauer-Kahan: yes
- Bennett: yes
- Papan: yes
- Schiavo: yes
- Bonta: yes
- Ávila Farías: yes
- Aguiar-Curry: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Boerner: yes
- Alvarez: yes
- Lee: yes
- Wallis: yes
- Stefani: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Sharp-Collins: yes
- Nguyen: yes
- Ortega: yes
- Solache: yes
- Lowenthal: yes
- Blanca Rubio: yes
- Jackson: yes
- Bryan: yes
- Petrie-Norris: yes
- Harabedian: yes
- Gabriel: yes
- Zbur: yes
- McKinnor: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Muratsuchi: yes
- Krell: yes
- Irwin: yes
- Patel: yes
- Kalra: yes
- Rivas: yes
- Garcia: yes
- Johnson: no
- Dixon: no
- Hoover: no
- Hadwick: no
- Tangipa: no
- Lackey: no
- Macedo: no
- Gallagher: no
- Jeff Gonzalez: no
- Sanchez: no
- Ta: no
- Castillo: no
- Ellis: no
- Davies: no
- Patterson: no
- DeMaio: no
- Chen: other
- Ramos: other
- Alanis: other
- Flora: other
Unfinished Business SB59 Wiener et al. Urgency Clause Concurrence
2025-09-13 · pass · 29-8
Member-level votes (40)
- Richardson: yes
- Menjivar: yes
- Pérez: yes
- Stern: yes
- Smallwood-Cuevas: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Limón: yes
- Padilla: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Caballero: yes
- Cortese: yes
- Reyes: yes
- Hurtado: yes
- Becker: yes
- Ashby: yes
- Allen: yes
- Laird: yes
- Weber Pierson: yes
- McGuire: yes
- McNerney: yes
- Archuleta: yes
- Blakespear: yes
- Wiener: yes
- Arreguín: yes
- Cervantes: yes
- Rubio: yes
- Umberg: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
- Durazo: yes
- Niello: no
- Strickland: no
- Seyarto: no
- Jones: no
- Dahle: no
- Ochoa Bogh: no
- Alvarado-Gil: no
- Grove: no
- Gonzalez: other
- Valladares: other
- Choi: other

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB59

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