Retrieveing config for a custom ctools content type I've created a custom ctools content type to make a custom pane for my node/%nid panel. The content type has an edit form with some configuration options for the pane, that I would like to access from a function call from a custom module.

I haven't been able to find where this information is stored in the DB, or how I might be able to access it with some of the ctools functions.

For more context, the form has a toggle between public and private users. And I would like to know when submitting an unrelated form on the page, if that block is set for public or private use, and wanted to get the information directly from what I chose when configuring the pane.
What I think you want might be possible, but it is not easy.
The configuration settings are saved in the DB in the panels_pane table as serialized data in the 'configuration' column. That allows each instance of the pane to have its own configuration. In order to get that you would need to know how to get the specific instance of the pane being displayed, grab the column, and then unserialize it. 

You are probably better off figuring out a different way to handle this (if you haven't already).