CA SB59

Expands confidentiality protections for court records related to name and gender marker change petitions to all petitioners regardless of age, not just minors as under previous law

Requires courts to keep all records confidential for petitions filed on or after July 1, 2026, and allows those who filed earlier to request confidentiality ex parte without a filing fee

Prohibits any person or private entity (other than the petitioner) from publicly posting confidential name/gender change records on the internet or elsewhere

Creates civil enforcement mechanisms including injunctive relief and private lawsuits, with minimum statutory damages of $5,000, punitive damages for willful violations, and mandatory attorney's fees for prevailing plaintiffs (effective 6 months after enactment)

Codifies that a transgender person's gender identity is "intimate personal information entitled to protection under the right to privacy" based on the 2024 Court of Appeal decision in In re M.T.