(a) It shall be unlawful for a person to intentionally disclose proprietary information obtained in the negotiation, execution, or performance of a consulting services contract, as defined in Section 10335.5 of the Public Contract Code, or an information technology contract, as defined in Section 11702 of the Government Code, with the Independent System Operator when the contracting party knew or should have known that the disclosure was likely to cause harm.
(b) A violation of this section shall be punishable as a misdemeanor and may be prosecuted by the Attorney General or by a local district attorney in the district in which the disclosure took place.
(c) (1) For the purposes of this section “proprietary information” shall include any information agreed by the contracting parties to be proprietary, or any information that is designated by the Independent System Operator to be proprietary. The Independent System Operator shall provide written notification to a contracting party of any information that, subsequent to the execution of the contract, is identified to be proprietary. The Independent System Operator shall make this designation only in cases where the Independent System Operator has reason to believe that the release of this information poses an immediate threat to the health, safety, or welfare of the public or the Independent System Operator has reason to believe that the contracting party intends to sell the information. If the Independent System Operator makes a designation of proprietary information subsequent to the execution of the contract, the Independent System Operator shall make a good faith effort to amend the contract to incorporate the subsequent designation of proprietary information. The Independent System Operator shall specifically identify in the contract any information that is considered to be proprietary. A contracting party is not in violation of this section if that party discloses information prior to the receipt of the written notification.
(2) Any information that is required to be released or disclosed by a contracting party pursuant to a legal requirement, including an order of a court or regulatory agency, shall not be considered a violation of this section.
(Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 1097, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2003.)