🟡Relating to the availability of certain personal information of a child, spouse, or surviving spouse of a current or former employee of the office of the attorney general or of a public defender’s office.

🟡 SB 370: Expands Privacy for State Employees, Shrinks Public Oversight

What it says it does:
SB 370 extends confidentiality protections so employees of the Attorney General’s office and public defenders can keep their home addresses, phone numbers, and family details private. It frames this as a safety measure for state workers and their families.

What it actually changes:
The bill amends both the Government Code and the Tax Code, adding every current and former Attorney General employee, along with their spouses, children, and surviving spouses, to the list of people whose information must be kept confidential. Public defenders and their staff are also added. Property tax appraisal records that normally show ownership and payment status can now be sealed when these individuals request it.

Who is pushing for it:
Sen. Charles Perry authored the bill. Testimony in support came from the Office of the Attorney General, the Harris County Commissioners Court, and the Travis County Commissioners Court.

Who benefits:
Attorney General employees, public defenders, and their families gain broad privacy protections. County officials avoid liability by honoring confidentiality requests. Legislators can present the bill as a no-cost safety measure.

Who gets left out or exposed:
The public, journalists, and watchdogs lose access to key property and ownership data that help track conflicts of interest and tax fairness. Local governments will carry a permanent administrative burden to manage confidentiality flags.

Why this matters long term:
SB 370 takes protections meant for high-risk law enforcement work and expands them to thousands of government staff, creating a new baseline of secrecy. Once these protections exist, other agencies will likely request similar carveouts, making it harder for Texans to see how public officials are connected to land, contracts, or taxes.

What to watch next:
Whether the state sets clear standards for who qualifies, whether any audit or sunset review is added, and whether this precedent spreads to other agencies that want the same privacy rules.

Bottom line:
SB 370 protects some employees from real threats, but its broad language quietly limits transparency for everyone else. Without limits or review, it risks turning necessary safety protections into a permanent wall between state government and the people it serves.

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