(a) All information obtained by the commission or the secretary from producers and other persons required to keep and submit records pursuant to this article shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed except when required by a court order after a hearing in a judicial proceeding involving this chapter.
(b) In addition, and notwithstanding any other provision of law, all proprietary or trade secret information developed or gathered pursuant to this chapter, including, but not limited to, the names and addresses of persons subject to this chapter, individual quantities produced or sold, prices paid, and the products of research obtained by the commission, or by the department on behalf of the commission, from any source is confidential, shall not be considered a public record as that term is defined in Section 7920.530 of the Government Code, and shall not be disclosed by the commission or the secretary except when required by a court order after a hearing in a judicial proceeding involving this chapter.
(c) Information on volume shipments, crop value, and any other related information that is required for reports to governmental agencies, financial reports to the commission, or aggregate sales and inventory information, and any other information that gives only totals, but excludes individual information, may be disclosed by the commission in its sole discretion.
(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 615, Sec. 134. (AB 474) Effective January 1, 2022. Operative January 1, 2023, pursuant to Sec. 463 of Stats. 2021, Ch. 615.)