CONFIDENTIALITY OF INVESTIGATION MATERIAL

(a) Information or material, including any investigation file, is confidential and not subject to disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code, or any other means of legal compulsion for release, including disclosure, discovery, or subpoena, if the information or material is prepared or compiled by the board in connection with a complaint, investigation, or audit of any person subject to the jurisdiction of the board. (b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), information or material prepared or compiled by the board in connection with a complaint, investigation, or audit may be disclosed: (1) to the respondent; (2) to a person providing a service to the board, including an expert or other witness, or an investigator, if the information is necessary for preparation for, or a presentation in, a disciplinary proceeding against an applicant or license holder, or a subsequent trial or appeal taken from a disciplinary proceeding; (3) to an entity in another jurisdiction that licenses, registers, credentials, or disciplines any person subject to the jurisdiction of the board; (4) to a law enforcement agency; (5) to the State Office of Administrative Hearings; or (6) to the board, or a panel of the board, for use during any proceeding conducted by the State Office of Administrative Hearings or in a subsequent trial or appeal of a board action or order. (c) The release of information under Subsection (b) is not a voluntary disclosure for purposes of Section 552.007, Government Code. (d) The board may require that a confidentiality agreement be signed by a person entitled to receive information under Subsection (b) before releasing the information. (e) The board may withhold information or material described by Subsection (a) without requesting a decision from the attorney general under Subchapter G, Chapter 552, Government Code. (e-1) The board shall protect the identity of a complainant to the extent possible by excluding the complainant's identifying information from a complaint notice sent to a respondent. (f) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), on the dismissal or final resolution of a complaint, investigation, or audit, information or material prepared or compiled by the board in connection with the complaint, investigation, or audit, including a completed audit report or a final order of the board, is subject to disclosure under Chapter 321 or 552, Government Code.