(a) The commission shall cause to be made and kept a record of all proceedings at regular and special meetings of the commission. These records shall be open to public inspection.

(b) The department shall maintain a file of all applications for licenses under this chapter. The commission shall maintain a record of all actions taken with respect to those applications. The file and record shall be open to public inspection.

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(c) The department and commission may maintain any other files and records as they deem appropriate. Except as provided in this chapter, the records of the department and commission are exempt from disclosure under Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code.

(d) Except as necessary for the administration of this chapter, no commissioner and no official, employee, or agent of the commission or the department, having obtained access to confidential records or information in the performance of duties pursuant to this chapter, shall knowingly disclose or furnish the records or information, or any part thereof, to any person who is not authorized by law to receive it. A violation of this subdivision is a misdemeanor.

(e) Notwithstanding subdivision (k) of § 1798.24 of the Civil Code, a court shall not compel disclosure of personal information in the possession of the department or the commission to any person in any civil proceeding wherein the department or the commission is not a party, except for good cause and upon a showing that the information cannot otherwise be obtained. This section shall not authorize the disclosure of personal information that is otherwise exempt from disclosure.

(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 615, Sec. 35. (AB 474) Effective January 1, 2022. Operative January 1, 2023, pursuant to Section 463 of Stats. 2021, Ch. 615.)