The Legislature finds and declares as follows:
(a) Procedures and policies governing the relationship between financial institutions and government agencies have in some cases developed without due regard to citizens’ constitutional rights.
(b) The confidential relationships between financial institutions and their customers are built on trust and must be preserved and protected.
(c) The purpose of this chapter is to clarify and protect the confidential relationship between financial institutions and their customers and to balance a citizen’s right of privacy with the governmental interest in obtaining information for specific purposes and by specified procedures as set forth in this chapter.
(Added by Stats. 1976, Ch. 1320.)