Assembly Bill 171 aims to enhance privacy protections for judicial officers in Wisconsin by amending existing statutes related to the disclosure of personal information. The bill introduces a requirement for written requests for privacy to be notarized and specifies that these requests must describe the records believed to contain personal information with reasonable particularity. It also clarifies that a home address is considered personal information only when directly associated with the judicial officer's name. Additionally, the bill modifies the process for submitting these requests, requiring them to be sent to a designated officer of a government agency, and it mandates that judicial officers update their requests within 90 days if their home address changes.

Furthermore, the bill provides liability protections for government agencies and their employees regarding violations of privacy protections unless such violations are intentional or reckless. It also includes provisions that allow for exceptions to the prohibition on publicly posting judicial officers' personal information if required by law. The bill repeals certain existing provisions and makes several amendments to ensure clarity regarding the handling of personal information by registers of deeds and land records websites, including allowing access to certain third parties under specified conditions. Overall, the bill seeks to strengthen the confidentiality of judicial officers' personal information while balancing the need for public access to records.