South Carolina Code of Laws
Chapter 23 - Environmental Certification Board
Section 40-23-190. Confidentiality of initial investigations; formal complaints open to public; communications privileged; respondent's due process rights preserved.

(A) Except as otherwise provided by law, all initial complaints, investigations, proceedings, records, and information relating to allegations of misconduct or incapacity are confidential and must not be disclosed to the public. A record published, released, or made public must not disclose the initial complainant's name or identity except by order of the board made with due consideration of the complainant's privacy. While the matter remains confidential, the members and staff of the department and the board must not reveal in any way the nature of the initial complaint except to persons directly involved in the matter and then only to the extent necessary for proper investigation and disposition of the matter.
(B) When a formal complaint is filed regarding an allegation of misconduct, the formal complaint and any answer become open to the public after the filing of the answer or if no answer is filed, thirty days after the service of the charges upon the licensee. Thereafter, except as otherwise provided by this chapter, all subsequent records and proceedings relating to the misconduct allegation are open to the public. If an allegation of incapacity is raised during the misconduct proceedings, all records, information, and proceedings relating to the allegation are confidential.
(C) However, the department or the board may disclose information to another government agency, including law enforcement officials, at any stage of the proceedings in order to protect the public or for the administration of justice.
(D) Each communication, oral or written, made by or on behalf of a complainant or by a person in the course of an investigation or hearing pursuant to this chapter to or by the department, the board, or their agent is privileged. A civil or criminal action or proceeding may not be brought against the person, by or on whose behalf the communication is made, except upon other proof that the communication was made with malice.
(E) Nothing in this chapter may be construed to prohibit the licensee respondent or the respondent's legal counsel from exercising the respondent's constitutional right of due process as provided by law or to prohibit the respondent from normal access to the charges made and evidence filed against the respondent as part of due process as provided by law.
HISTORY: 2002 Act No. 185, Section 1.

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