(a) The information maintained in the statewide vacant and abandoned property registry shall be deemed and treated as confidential and shall therefore be exempt from disclosure pursuant to New York’s Freedom of Information Law, Public Officer Law, article 6.

(b) The superintendent may, in his or her sole discretion, release any information in the statewide vacant and abandoned property registry if the superintendent determines that such disclosure is in the best interest of the public.

(c) Upon written request in the form prescribed by the department, the superintendent shall release to a public official, as defined in this Part, the information maintained in the statewide vacant and abandoned property registry that is specific to the geographic scope of the public official’s district or political subdivision. The superintendent may require, in addition to any agreements or certifications required by subdivision (d) of this section, that a public official certify, as a condition to receiving information maintained in the statewide vacant and abandoned property registry, that the release of the requested information furthers the purposes of section 1307, section 1310, or article 18 of the RPAPL, or any other law, code, rule, regulation or ordinance that the superintendent determines to be related to section 1307, section 1310, or article 18 of the RPAPL.

(d) The superintendent may require any party receiving information maintained in the statewide vacant and abandoned registry pursuant to this section to execute, as a condition of receiving the information, a confidentiality agreement and/or periodic certifications affirming that the confidentiality of the information has been maintained.