54-17.5-06. Access to commission records

54-17.5-06. Access to commission records 1. Materials and data submitted to, or made or received by, the commission, to the extent that the commission determines the materials or data consist of trade secrets or commercial, financial, or proprietary information of individuals or entities applying to or contracting with the commission or receiving commission services under this chapter, are not public records subject to section 44-04-18 and section 6 of article XI of the Constitution of North Dakota. 2. A person or entity must file a request with the commission to have material designated as confidential under subsection 1. A request to have material designated as confidential is exempt as defined in section 44-04-17.1. The request must contain any information required by the commission, and must include at least the following: a. A general description of the nature of the information sought to be protected. b. An explanation of why the information derives independent economic value, actual or potential, from not being generally known to other persons. c. An explanation of why the information is not readily ascertainable by proper means by other persons. d. A general description of any person or entity that may obtain economic value from disclosure or use of the information, and how the person or entity may obtain this value. e. A description of the efforts used to maintain the secrecy of the information. 3. Any information submitted under subsection 2 is confidential. The commission shall examine the request and determine whether the information is relevant to the matter at hand and is a trade secret under the definition in section 47-25.1-01 or 44-04-18.4. If the commission determines the information is either not relevant or not a trade secret, the commission shall notify the requester and the requester may ask for the return of the information and request within ten days of the notice. If no return is sought, the information and request are a public record. 4. The names or identities of independent technical reviewers on any project or program and the names of individual lignite council members making recommendations are confidential and may not be disclosed by the commission, and are not public records subject to section 44-04-18 or section 6 of article XI of the Constitution of North Dakota.