(a) As used in this section, “proprietary information” means information that is all of the following:

(1) Related to an agricultural operation or land that is a part of an agricultural operation.

(2) A trade secret, or commercial or financial information, that is privileged or confidential, and is identified as such by the person providing the information to the department.

(3) Not required to be disclosed under any other provision of law or any regulation affecting the land or the agricultural operation on the land.

(b) Proprietary information received by the department pursuant to Section 2089.8 is not public information, and the department shall not release or disclose the proprietary information to any person, including any federal, state, or local governmental agency, outside of the department.

(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), the department may release or disclose proprietary information received pursuant to Section 2089.8 to the following entities under the following circumstances:

(1) Any person or federal, state, or local governmental agency, to enforce this article.

(2) Any person or federal, state, or local governmental agency working in cooperation with the department to provide technical or financial assistance for the purposes of implementing the program established by this article.

(3) Any entity, to the extent that the owner, operator, or producer has consented to the release or disclosure.

(4) The general public, if the information has been transformed into a statistical or aggregate form without identifying any individual owner, operator, or producer, or the specific location from which the information was gathered.

(Added by Stats. 2009, Ch. 184, Sec. 1. (SB 448) Effective January 1, 2010.)