81R9473 YDB-F
By: Aycock H.B. No. 1562
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the confidentiality of investigation records of the
State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners and clarification of
the regulatory authority of the board.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 801.004, Occupations Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 801.004. APPLICATION OF CHAPTER. This chapter does
not apply to:
(1) the treatment or care of an animal in any manner by
the owner of the animal, an employee of the owner, or a designated
caretaker of the animal, unless the ownership, employment, or
designation is established with the intent to violate this chapter;
(2) a person who performs an act prescribed by the
board as an accepted livestock management practice, including:
(A) castrating a male animal raised for human
consumption;
(B) docking or earmarking an animal raised for
human consumption;
(C) dehorning cattle;
(D) aiding in the nonsurgical birth process of a
large animal, as defined by board rule;
(E) treating an animal for disease prevention
with a nonprescription medicine or vaccine;
(F) branding or identifying an animal in any
manner;
(G) artificially inseminating an animal,
including training, inseminating, and compensating for services
related to artificial insemination; and
(H) shoeing a horse;
(3) the performance of a cosmetic or production
technique to reduce injury in poultry intended for human
consumption;
(4) the performance of a duty by a veterinarian's
employee if:
(A) the duty involves food production animals;
(B) the duty does not involve diagnosis,
prescription, or surgery;
(C) the employee is under the direction and
general supervision of the veterinarian; and
(D) the veterinarian is responsible for the
employee's performance;
(5) the performance of an act by a person who is a
full-time student of an accredited college of veterinary medicine,
[or is a foreign graduate of a board-approved equivalent competency
program for foreign veterinary graduates and who is participating
in a board-approved extern or preceptor program] if the act is
performed under the direct supervision of a veterinarian employing
the person;
(6) the performance of an act by a person who is a
full-time student in a veterinary program of an accredited college
of veterinary medicine, if the act is performed under the direct
supervision of a veterinarian licensed in this state;
(7) an animal shelter employee who performs euthanasia
in the course and scope of the person's employment if the person has
successfully completed training in accordance with Chapter 829,
Health and Safety Code;
(8) [(7)] a person who is engaged in a recognized
state-federal cooperative disease eradication or control program
or an external parasite control program while the person is
performing official duties required by the program;
(9) [(8)] a person who, without expectation of
compensation, provides emergency care in an emergency or disaster;
or
(10) [(9)] a consultation given to a veterinarian in
this state by a person who:
(A) resides in another state; and
(B) is lawfully qualified to practice veterinary
medicine under the laws of that state.
SECTION 2. Section 801.207, Occupations Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 801.207. CONFIDENTIALITY OF INVESTIGATION FILES
[PUBLIC RECORD; EXCEPTION]. (a) The board's investigation files
are confidential, privileged, and not subject to discovery,
subpoena, or any other means of legal compulsion for release other
than to the board or an employee or agent of the board. [Except as
provided by Subsection (b), a board record is a public record and is
available for public inspection during normal business hours.]
(b) The board shall share information in investigation
files with another state or federal regulatory agency or with a
local, state, or federal law enforcement agency regardless of
whether the investigation has been completed. The board is not
required to disclose under this subsection information that is an
attorney-client communication, an attorney work product, or other
information protected by a privilege recognized by the Texas Rules
of Civil Procedure or the Texas Rules of Evidence.
(c) On completion of the investigation and before a
contested case hearing, the board shall provide to the license
holder, subject to any other privilege or restriction established
by rule, statute, or legal precedent, access to all information in
the board's possession that the board intends to offer into
evidence in presenting its case in chief at the contested case
hearing under Chapter 2001, Government Code, on the complaint. The
board is not required to provide:
(1) a board investigative report or memorandum;
(2) the identity of a non-testifying complainant; or
(3) attorney-client communications, attorney work
product, or other materials covered by a privilege recognized by
the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure or the Texas Rules of Evidence.
(d) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the board may:
(1) disclose a complaint to the affected license
holder;
(2) provide to a complainant the license holder's
response to the complaint, if providing the response is considered
by the board to be necessary to investigate the complaint; and
(3) disclose information regarding a complaint and an
investigation to:
(A) a person involved with the board in a
disciplinary action against a license holder;
(B) a veterinary licensing or disciplinary board
in another jurisdiction; or
(C) a peer assistance program approved by the
board.
(e) This section does not prohibit the board or another
party in a disciplinary action from offering into evidence in a
contested case under Chapter 2001, Government Code, a record,
document, or other information obtained or created during an
investigation.
(f) The board's filing of formal charges against a license
holder, the nature of the charges, and the board's final
disciplinary actions, including warnings and reprimands, are not
confidential and are subject to disclosure in accordance with
Chapter 552, Government Code. The furnishing of information under
this section does not constitute a waiver of any other privilege or
confidentiality provision established under this section or any
other law. [An investigation record of the board, including a
record relating to a complaint that is found to be groundless, is
confidential.]
SECTION 3. Sections 801.401(a) and (c), Occupations Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) If an applicant or license holder is subject to denial
of a license or to disciplinary action under Section 801.402, the
board may:
(1) refuse to examine an applicant or to issue or renew
a license;
(2) revoke or suspend a license;
(3) place on probation a license holder or person
whose license has been suspended;
(4) reprimand a license holder; and [or]
(5) impose an administrative penalty.
(c) The board may require a license holder whose license
suspension is probated to:
(1) report regularly to the board on matters that are
the basis of the probation;
(2) limit practice to the areas prescribed by the
board; and [or]
(3) continue or review continuing professional
education until the license holder attains a degree of skill
satisfactory to the board in those areas that are the basis of the
probation.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.