The commission must keep investigation-related information confidential, may disclose it only to listed recipients in limited circumstances, may require a confidentiality agreement before release, and must try to protect a complainant’s identity.
Sec. 1101.2051. CONFIDENTIALITY OF INVESTIGATION MATERIAL. (a) Information or material, including an 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 commission in connection with a complaint, investigation, or audit of any person subject to the jurisdiction of the commission. (b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), information or material prepared or compiled by the commission in connection with a complaint, investigation, or audit may be disclosed: (1) to the respondent of the complaint; (2) to a person that is the subject of an audit; (3) to a person providing a service to the commission, 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; (4) to an entity in another jurisdiction that licenses, registers, credentials, or disciplines any person subject to the jurisdiction of the commission; (5) to a law enforcement agency; (6) to the State Office of Administrative Hearings; or (7) to the commission, or a panel of the commission, for use during any proceeding conducted by the State Office of Administrative Hearings or in a subsequent trial or appeal of a commission action or order. (c) The release of information under Subsection (b) does not constitute a release or disclosure for purposes of Section 552.007, Government Code. (d) The commission may require a confidentiality agreement be signed by a person entitled to receive information under Subsection (b) before releasing the information. (d-1) The commission 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. (e) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), on the dismissal or final resolution of a complaint, investigation, or audit, information or materials prepared or compiled by the commission in connection with the complaint, investigation, or audit, including a completed audit report or a final order of the commission, is subject to disclosure under Chapter 321 or 552, Government Code. Added by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1158 (S.B. 699), Sec. 23, eff. January 1, 2016. Amended by: Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 334 (S.B. 624), Sec. 5, eff. September 1, 2019.