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AB-1178 • 2026

Peace officers: confidentiality of records.

Peace officers: confidentiality of records.

Privacy
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Pacheco
Last action
2025-10-11
Official status
Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 635, Statutes of 2025.
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The exact timing of when the new rules for undercover officers will start is not specified in the official source material.

Peace Officers: Keeping Records Private

This law requires courts to consider if a peace officer is working undercover when deciding whether to release certain records, and allows agencies to redact personal information or details that could endanger someone's safety.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires courts to consider if a peace officer is currently operating undercover and their duties demand anonymity when determining if there is a specific danger to the physical safety of a person from disclosing the record.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Peace officers whose records might be requested by the public
  • Courts deciding cases about whether to release police records

Terms To Know

Undercover
Working in secret, often hiding who you really are or what your job is.
Redact
To remove or hide parts of a document to protect privacy or safety.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The exact details about how this law will work with other laws (AB 847 and AB 1388) are not clear until those laws pass too.
  • It's unclear exactly when the new rules for undercover officers will start.

Bill History

  1. 2025-10-11 California Legislative Information

    Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 635, Statutes of 2025.

  2. 2025-10-11 California Legislative Information

    Approved by the Governor.

  3. 2025-09-24 California Legislative Information

    Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m.

  4. 2025-09-13 California Legislative Information

    Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 67. Noes 0. Page 3481.).

  5. 2025-09-13 California Legislative Information

    Assembly Rule 63 suspended. (Page 3477.)

  6. 2025-09-13 California Legislative Information

    Joint Rules 61(a)(14) and 51(a)(4) suspended. (Ayes 59. Noes 20. Page 3413.)

  7. 2025-09-13 California Legislative Information

    In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.

  8. 2025-09-12 California Legislative Information

    Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 29. Noes 2. Page 3005.).

  9. 2025-09-10 California Legislative Information

    Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  10. 2025-09-09 California Legislative Information

    Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

  11. 2025-09-09 California Legislative Information

    Joint Rule 61(a)(13) suspended. (Ayes 28. Noes 8. Page 2568.)

  12. 2025-09-08 California Legislative Information

    Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  13. 2025-09-05 California Legislative Information

    Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

  14. 2025-09-02 California Legislative Information

    Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  15. 2025-08-29 California Legislative Information

    Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading.

  16. 2025-08-29 California Legislative Information

    From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (August 29).

  17. 2025-06-30 California Legislative Information

    In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file.

  18. 2025-06-18 California Legislative Information

    In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.

  19. 2025-06-11 California Legislative Information

    Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  20. 2025-06-10 California Legislative Information

    From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 0.) (June 10).

  21. 2025-05-21 California Legislative Information

    Referred to Coms. on PUB. S. and APPR.

  22. 2025-05-08 California Legislative Information

    In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

  23. 2025-05-08 California Legislative Information

    Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 60. Noes 2. Page 1483.)

  24. 2025-05-05 California Legislative Information

    Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  25. 2025-05-01 California Legislative Information

    Ordered to second reading.

  26. 2025-05-01 California Legislative Information

    Withdrawn from committee.

  27. 2025-04-29 California Legislative Information

    Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  28. 2025-04-28 California Legislative Information

    Read second time and amended.

  29. 2025-04-24 California Legislative Information

    From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 0.) (April 22).

  30. 2025-03-24 California Legislative Information

    Referred to Com. on PUB. S.

  31. 2025-02-24 California Legislative Information

    Read first time.

  32. 2025-02-22 California Legislative Information

    From printer. May be heard in committee March 24.

  33. 2025-02-21 California Legislative Information

    Introduced. To print.

Official Summary Text

AB 1178, Pacheco.
Peace officers: confidentiality of records.
Existing law, the California Public Records Act, generally requires public records to be open for inspection by the public. Existing law provides numerous exceptions to this requirement. Under existing law, the personnel records of peace officers and custodial officers are confidential and not subject to public inspection. Existing law provides certain exemptions to this confidentiality, including the reports, investigations, and findings of certain incidents involving the use of force by a peace officer. Existing law authorizes an agency to redact the records disclosed for specified purposes including, among others, to remove personal data or information, as specified, and where there is a specific, articulable, and particularized reason to believe that disclosure of the record would pose a significant danger to the physical safety of the peace officer, custodial officer, or another
person.
This bill would require a court in an action to compel disclosure pursuant to specified provisions, in determining whether there is a specific, articulable, and particularized reason to believe that disclosure of the record would pose a significant danger to the physical safety of a person, to consider whether a particular peace officer is currently operating undercover and their duties demand anonymity.
This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 832.7 of the Penal Code proposed by AB 847 and AB 1388, to be operative only if this bill and AB 847 or AB 1388 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
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