SB1540

The newly covered group consists of current or former election officials; an election official’s employees, volunteers or designees; and secretary-of-state employees who perform election duties. The existing definition includes county clerks and deputies, elections administrators and staff, election judges and clerks, ballot-board and signature-verification personnel, central-counting personnel and qualifying county party chairs. The final addition for a state party executive committee covers its chair—not every committee member. Final law, sections 1–2.

Protection under Government Code section 552.1175(b) is not automatic merely because someone works on an election. The person must choose to restrict public access and notify the governmental body on its form, with evidence of qualifying status. The covered information is home address, home telephone number, emergency contact information, date of birth, Social Security number and information revealing whether the person has family members. This is protection for specified personal details, not a blanket exemption for election operations or every document mentioning an election worker. Final law; Existing confidentiality conditions, section 3.

A separate 2025 law, SB370, also protects the completed confidentiality-request form and supplemental information. Later, second-special-session HB16 required county and district clerks, on request, to redact the covered personal details from documents they post online; clerk-filed documents otherwise retain their stated exception from section 552.1175. Those additional changes are not provisions created by SB1540. SB370, section 2; Later HB16, section 15.10.

The introduced, Senate committee, Senate-passed and House committee versions have the same operative text. A House amendment added every member of a qualifying party’s state executive committee, including the chair and vice chair, to the definition of election official. Conference narrowed that addition to the chair, and both chambers adopted that version. The broader House proposal is not the enacted rule. Text versions and conference record; House amendment; Amendment index; Final law.

Requests received before September 1, 2025 remain governed by the law applicable when received. The transition rule concerns the date of the public-information request, not simply when a document was created or the employee began work. Final law, sections 3–4.

Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.

Qualifying officials and workers can limit public disclosure of sensitive personal details by using the statutory process. Governmental bodies must identify qualifying requests and handle the protected information accordingly. The law does not establish that every worker has filed the required notice, remove information already held privately, or prove a particular reduction in threats or harassment. Final law; Confidentiality requirements, section 3.

The final fiscal note anticipates no state fiscal impact and no significant local-government fiscal impact. It does not quantify privacy benefits or guarantee that no individual office will spend staff time processing requests. Final fiscal note.