Overview
- Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill Saturday, formally adding employees, volunteers and providers at nonprofit immigration‑service organizations to California’s Safe at Home address‑confidentiality program.
- The law requires applicants to register with the secretary of state and document threats or harassment within the past year to receive a substitute address that state and local agencies must accept.
- AB 2624 bars publishing a participant’s personal information or image with the specific intent to incite violence or put them in reasonable fear and establishes civil damages and criminal penalties for violations.
- Republican lawmakers and free‑speech advocates say the law’s language and its private‑demand and civil remedies risk chilling investigative reporting, and some have asked the U.S. Department of Justice to review or block implementation.
- The measure’s passage followed a public confrontation involving citizen journalist Nick Shirley at the State Capitol that produced multiple HR complaints, and the program is set to open on Oct. 1, 2027, creating a likely path for legal challenges before it takes effect.