6. Public Records Act Acknowledgment
- The application is subject to the provisions of the California Public Records Act (California Government Code §7920.000 et seq.).
- Applicant must state whether the application contains proprietary information that constitutes a trade secret pursuant to California Civil Code section 3426.1. Trade secrets may be marked as confidential only to the extent they meet the requirements of section 3426.1.
- If the application includes trade secret data that applicant does not want disclosed for any purpose other than the application process, the title page must include the following language:
USE AND DISCLOSURE OF DATA
The trade secret information in this application shall not be duplicated, used, or disclosed in whole or in part for any purpose other than the application process; provided, that if a contract or partnership agreement is executed with applicant as a result of or in connection with submission of this data, SCAG and South Coast Air Quality Mangement District (South Coast AQMD) shall have the right to duplicate, use, or disclose the data to the extent provided in the contract. This restriction does not limit South Coast AQMD or SCAG’s right to use information contained in the data if it is obtainable from another source without restriction. The data subjected to this restriction are contained in Page(s) [insert page numbers] of the offer.
The applicant also shall mark each restricted page with the following:
- Use or disclosure of data in sections or paragraphs [insert section or paragraph numbers] on this page is trade secret and is therefore subject to the restriction on the title page of this offer.
- Applications will be returned if marked with a different disclaimer than that provided above. To the extent that the application is marked in its entirety as confidential or a trade secret, such designations will not be effective. The applicant will be informed that the application cannot be reviewed because it is impracticable for SCAG to comply with the applicant’s requirements. The applicant shall also be informed, however, that the application may be considered if it is resubmitted with the language provided above.
- Application material protected by law from public disclosure will not be disclosed by SCAG if clearly marked as described above. Only information claimed to be a trade secret at the time of submittal to SCAG and marked as required will be treated as a trade secret. SCAG will use its best efforts to inform the applicant of any request for any financial records or documents marked “Trade Secret,” “Confidential” or “Proprietary” provided by applicant to SCAG. SCAG will not advise as to the nature or content of documents entitled to protection from disclosure under the California Public Records Act.
- Notwithstanding the foregoing, any information provided to SCAG will be shared with South Coast AQMD and SCAG cannot control how South Coast AQMD uses the information. Please note that South Coast AQMD is bound by its own Guidelines for Implementing the California Public Records Act, which can be found in the South Coast AQMD PRA Guidelines (2013). Please refer to Section D of these Guidelines for instructions regarding the procedures required by South Coast AQMD to claim exemption from the Public Records Act.
- To the extent that an applicant marks any information as either confidential or a trade secret, the applicant thereby agrees to defend and indemnify SCAG and/or South Coast AQMD in the event that their non-disclosure is challenged in any legal action. In the event of litigation concerning the disclosure of any records, SCAG and South Coast AQMD’s sole involvement will be as stakeholders, retaining the records until otherwise ordered by a court. The applicant, at its sole expense and risk, shall be fully responsible for any and all fees for prosecuting or defending any action concerning the records and shall indemnify and hold SCAG and South Coast AQMD harmless from all costs and expenses, including attorney’s fees, in connection with any such action.