(a) For acquisitions to which Section 18a of Title 15 of the United States Code applies, the Attorney General shall consider the extent to which information required to be submitted to the United States Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission may satisfy some or all of the need to carry out the applicable state laws. Any information that has been submitted to the Attorney General under provisions of federal law rendering them confidential shall be deemed to be confidential under California law.

(b) The submitting party may designate information submitted pursuant to this part as privileged or confidential. If the Attorney General disputes any claim of privilege or confidentiality, the Attorney General may give notice to the submitting party of that fact and give the submitting party, or other person interested in the claim of privilege or confidentiality, an opportunity to seek an order from the Superior Court of the County of Sacramento requiring the Attorney General not to make the designated information public. Except for information that the Attorney General agrees is privileged or confidential, or the court so determines, the information shall be available to the public under the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code).

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(c) The Attorney General may disclose any notice and information filed under this part to the attorney general of any other state, the Federal Trade Commission, the United States Department of Justice, or to another state agency, as long as that other state attorney general, state agency, or federal agency operates under a law substantially similar to this statute to guarantee the privileged or confidential nature of the notice and information disclosed.

(Added by Stats. 2023, Ch. 457, Sec. 2. (AB 853) Effective January 1, 2024.)