Cartwright Act: public procurement of goods and services: Department of Justice: examination of public entity records.

Existing law establishes the Attorney General as the head of the Department of Justice, with charge of all legal matters in which the state is interested, except as specified. Existing law imposes various requirements on the Attorney General related to consumer protection, including, among others, the supervision of charitable trusts and the enforcement of antitrust laws. Existing law, commonly known as the Cartwright Act, identifies certain acts that are unlawful restraints of trade and unlawful trusts. This bill would authorize the Department of Justice to request to examine contract records, as defined, held by a public entity if the request seeks information that is reasonably related to an investigation initiated by the Attorney General to identify bid rigging and other violations of California law concerning the public procurement of goods and services, and the contract amount exceeds $100,000. The bill would require a public entity to permit the examination and, upon demand, produce within 30 days, in complete and unredacted form, copies of all contract records. The bill would require information and documents obtained under the bill's provisions to only be used for the purpose described above, and would exempt documents or information protected by the attorney-client privilege, as specified. The bill would define "public entity" to include the state, local agencies, and any other political subdivision or public corporation. By imposing new duties on local public entities, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the department to pay a fee to the public entity limited to the direct cost of duplication under these provisions, or a statutory fee, if applicable. The bill would require the department to maintain the confidentiality of the documents or information received to the greatest extent required by law, as specified. The bill would prohibit information obtained in response to a request under these provisions from being provided in response to a request pursuant to the California Public Records Act, as described. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this purpose. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.