CA Assembly Passes Bills to Protect Public Officials
WASHINGTON, D.C. — California state legislators recently passed Assembly Bill 883, which, if signed by the Governor, will streamline the process for judges and officials to have their personal data removed from commercial data brokers’ databases, and authorize government attorneys to sue any data broker that doesn’t remove officials’ personal information within 30 days.
This makes California the ninth state to enact such legislation this year, and one of 28 states that introduced legislation across party lines to protect public officials in this cycle.
Public Citizen has been tracking these bills and supporting their passage as rates of in-person and digital threats against those who step up and serve the American public, remain sky high.
“State leaders across the country are working to protect the rights and freedoms of their constituents and the public officials who serve them,” said Aquene Freechild, co-director of Public Citizen’s democracy campaign. “We call on all states who have not yet acted to protect public officials from threats to do so as soon as possible.”
According to a report recently released by the Bridging Divides Institute, “The risk environment may continue to intensify as the midterms approach. Previous BDI research shows that threats and harassment often increase during election periods, particularly for officials tasked with administering or certifying the vote. The climate of hostility also affects candidates and civil society leaders, narrowing civic space and discouraging people from running for office in the first place.”
Bridging Divides can connect reporters with local elected officials willing to speak on the record about political violence; if interested, contact Sam A. Jones at [email protected]