(a) The Board or its designee may, upon receipt of a complaint or other information suggesting violations of this chapter or of the rules of the Board, conduct investigations to determine whether there is probable cause to institute proceedings under sections 250f, 250k, or 250l of this chapter against any person or firm for such violation, but an investigation under this section is not a prerequisite to such proceedings if a determination of probable cause can be made without investigation. In aid of such investigations, the Board or the chairperson, or a designee may issue subpoenas to compel witnesses to testify and produce evidence, or both testify and produce evidence.
(b) The Board may designate a member, or any other person of appropriate competence, to serve as investigating officer to conduct an investigation. Upon completion of an investigation, the investigating officer shall file a report with the Board. The Board shall find probable cause or lack of probable cause upon the basis of the report or shall return the report to the investigating officer for further investigation. Unless there has been a determination of probable cause, the report of the investigating officer, the complaint, if any, the testimony and documents submitted in support of the complaint or gathered in the investigation, and the fact of pendency of the investigation must be treated as confidential information and must not be disclosed to any person except law enforcement authorities and, to the extent deemed necessary in order to conduct the investigation, the subject of the investigation, persons whose complaints are being investigated, and witnesses questioned in the course of the investigation.
(c) Upon a finding of probable cause, if the subject of the investigation is a permittee or an individual with privileges under section 250q of this chapter, the Board shall direct that a complaint be issued under section 250f of this chapter, and if the subject of the investigation is not a permittee or an individual with privileges under section 250q, the Board shall take appropriate action under sections 250k or 250l of this chapter. Upon a finding of no probable cause, the Board shall close the matter and shall thereafter release information relating thereto only with the consent of the person or firm under investigation.
(d) The Board may review the publicly available professional work of permittees or an individual with privileges under section 250q of this chapter on a general and random basis, without any requirement of a formal complaint or suspicion of impropriety. If as a result of such review the Board discovers reasonable grounds for a more specific investigation, the Board may proceed under subsections (a) through (c) of this section.