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.