(a) All proprietary and trade secret information obtained by the commission from producers and vintners 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. The Legislature finds and declares that this provision is required to ensure that producer and vintner proprietary and trade secret information shall not be disclosed.

(b) In addition, and notwithstanding any other provision of law, all proprietary or trade secret information developed or gathered pursuant to this chapter 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 6252 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 other information that give only totals, but excludes individual information, may be disclosed by the commission.

(d) The commission shall determine whether information is proprietary or trade secret and not subject to disclosure. If the commission denies a request for disclosure of this information, the commission shall provide written justification for its decision to the person requesting the information who may appeal the decision of the commission to the secretary.

(Added by Stats. 2005, Ch. 597, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2006.)