Sec. 202.509. DISCLOSURE OF INVESTIGATIVE INFORMATION

(a) A complaint, report, investigation file, or other investigative information in the possession of or received or gathered by the board or an employee or agent of the board that relates to a license holder, a license application, or a criminal investigation or proceeding is privileged, confidential, and not subject to discovery, subpoena, or any other legal method of compelling release.

(b) Subject to any other privilege or restriction established by law, not later than the 30th day after the date the board receives a written request from a license holder, or the license holder's attorney, who is the subject of a formal complaint, the board shall provide the license holder with access to all information in the board's possession that the board intends to offer into evidence at the contested case hearing on the complaint. The board may provide access to the information to the license holder after the 30th day after the date the board receives a request only on a showing of good cause.

(c) The board is not required under Subsection (b) to provide access to the board's investigative reports or memoranda, release the identity of a complainant who will not testify at the hearing, or release information that is an attorney's work product or protected by the attorney-client privilege or another privilege recognized by the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure or Texas Rules of Evidence. The furnishing of information under Subsection (b) does not constitute a waiver of any privilege or confidentiality provision under law.

(d) Investigative information in the board's possession that relates to a disciplinary action regarding a license holder may be disclosed to:

(1) a licensing agency regulating the practice of podiatry in another state or country in which the license holder is also licensed or has applied for a license; or

(2) a peer review committee reviewing a license holder's application for privileges or the license holder's qualifications with regard to retaining the privileges.

(e) The board shall report to the appropriate law enforcement agency information obtained by the board in the course of an investigation that indicates that a crime may have been committed. The board shall cooperate and assist a law enforcement agency conducting a criminal investigation of a license holder by providing relevant information to the agency. Information provided to a law enforcement agency by the board is confidential and may not be disclosed except as necessary to conduct the investigation.

(f) The board shall provide information to a health care entity on the written request of the entity concerning:

(1) a complaint filed against a license holder that was resolved after an investigation by the board or resolved by an agreed settlement; and

(2) the basis for and status of an active investigation concerning a license holder.

Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 388, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.