(a) It is unlawful for any employee, officer, authorized agent or contractor of a local jurisdiction levying a utility user’s tax, that obtains access to information contained in utility user tax records of a local jurisdiction, to disclose any information obtained from the records of a utility or other company required to report or pay a utility user’s tax to the local jurisdiction as a result of an audit, or any other information obtained in the course of an on-site audit, to any person who is not an employee, officer, authorized agent, or contractor of the local jurisdiction with administrative or compliance responsibilities relating to the utility user’s tax ordinance.
(b) Any violation of this section is a misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both, in the discretion of the court.
(c) This section shall not be construed to prohibit the divulging of information to the State Board of Equalization for the purposes of its administration of the Energy Resources Surcharge Law (Part 19 (commencing with Section 40001) of Division 2).
(d) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), this section shall not be construed to prohibit an employee, officer, authorized agent, or contractor of a local jurisdiction levying a utility user’s tax from doing any of the following:
(1) Disclosing to a taxpayer information derived from the records of a utility or other utility service provider, if the information is used to calculate the utility user’s tax of that taxpayer; or, disclosing that information in a tax collection action, provided that the information is subject to a protective order issued by a court.
(2) Disclosing to a tax officer of the state or federal government, pursuant to a written reciprocal agreement, information obtained from the records of a utility or other utility service provider, if the information is used to calculate the local utility user’s tax.
(3) Disclosing the gross utility user’s tax revenues collected from the customers of a utility that is owned or operated by the local jurisdiction that imposes the utility user’s tax.
(e) For purposes of this section:
(1) “Local jurisdiction” means any city, county, city and county, including any chartered city or city and county, district, or public or municipal corporation.
(2) “District” means any agency of the state, formed pursuant to general law or a special act, for the local performance of governmental or proprietary functions within limited boundaries.
(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to create an exemption from disclosure under subdivision (k) of Section 6254 of the Government Code, or to prohibit the disclosure of records pursuant to Section 6254.16 of the Government Code or subdivision (i) of Section 6254 of the Government Code.
(Amended by Stats. 1998, Ch. 485, Sec. 148. Effective January 1, 1999.)