Tribal financial information: public records: exemption.

Assembly Member Wallis proposes new protections for tribal financial information submitted to California public agencies as part of financial assistance applications. The legislation would classify such records as confidential and exempt them from public disclosure requirements under the California Public Records Act.

The bill requires public agencies to include explicit confidentiality provisions in all financial assistance agreements with federally recognized tribes. These provisions would apply to various forms of assistance including grants, cooperative agreements, property donations, direct appropriations, and food commodities. The measure defines Indian tribes to include any federally recognized tribe along with their departments, divisions, agencies and instrumentalities.

Legislative findings in the bill acknowledge tribal financial and legal records as sovereign documents not subject to disclosure by private citizens or the state. While the measure creates new administrative duties for local agencies, it provides for state reimbursement of associated costs if determined to be a state mandate. The provisions would apply uniformly across California, including charter cities, as the Legislature deems tribal financial record confidentiality a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair.