California politics reached a new low Wednesday night when independent journalist Nick Shirley posted video from Sacramento showing senior California Assembly staffer Terry Schanz turning a legitimate question about pending legislation into a stream of crude sexual insults and distributing flyers.

Official state payroll records identify Schanz as chief of staff to Democratic Assemblywoman Tina McKinnor. The incident occurred during Shirley’s report on AB 2624, the bill critics have nicknamed the “Stop Nick Shirley Act.”

Schanz is not chief of staff for the entire California State Assembly but specifically for McKinnor’s Capitol office. Despite this distinction, his actions were deeply embarrassing. Payroll records dated May 31 list Schanz as a full-time chief of staff in McKinnor’s office with a monthly salary of $17,319, making him a senior taxpayer-funded government employee.

Shirley alleged that Schanz used public resources to print the flyers. The video shows Schanz carrying and distributing a stack of them, but it does not independently establish where they were printed or which equipment was used.

AB 2624 would create an address-confidentiality program beginning October 1, 2027, for qualifying employees and volunteers at immigration support service organizations who document threats, harassment or violence. Participants could use a state-designated substitute address in public records while continuing to receive mail and legal documents through the secretary of state’s office. The bill also includes provisions allowing civil remedies when protected personal information is posted with intent to incite imminent bodily harm or create reasonable fear for personal safety, and explicitly states that program protections cannot be used as a subterfuge to avoid detection of illegal activity or apprehension by law enforcement. The current amended text sets minimum damages of $4,000 when a violation is found.

Supporters argue the bill protects workers from doxxing and threats, while opponents warn it could chill investigations into taxpayer-funded immigration service providers. California Legislative Information shows AB 2624 was passed by the Assembly on May 26 with a 57-19 vote. The Senate amended the measure on July 2, moved it through committees, and passed the revised version 30-10 on August 18. It has since returned to the Assembly for concurrence in the Senate amendments.

Schanz and McKinnor’s office had not publicly addressed Shirley’s allegations about the flyers as of publication.