(a) The Board may, upon its own motion, and shall, upon the sworn written request of any person, investigate the actions of any appraiser, applicant, or school approved by the Board; provided, however, that, whenever a request for investigation involves an appraisal report which varies from a sales, lease, or exchange price by 10 percent or less, the Board may in its discretion decline to conduct an investigation. Except for investigations of applicants for licensure or certification, investigations of allegations of fraudulent conduct, or investigation of possible violations of this chapter which have been litigated in the courts or arise from litigation in the courts, the Board may initiate an investigation on its own motion or upon a sworn written request for investigation if the act or acts which may constitute a violation of this chapter occurred within three years of the initiation of the investigation.
(b) Any person authorized to conduct an investigation on behalf of the Board shall have access to and may examine any writings, documents, or other material which may be related to an investigation made upon the order of the Board.
(c) In the conduct of an authorized investigation, the Board may issue subpoenas to compel production of such writings, documents, or material on behalf of the Board. After the service of a notice of hearing, the commissioner or chairperson of the Board may issue subpoenas to compel production of such writings, documents, or material, either on behalf of the Board or at the request of a respondent. The Board or the respondent may apply to the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands for the district in which a person disobeying a subpoena resides for an order of the Court enforcing the subpoena of the Board and the Court may render punishment in the same manner as a finding of contempt of court.
(d) The results of all investigations shall be reported only to the Board or to the commissioner and the records of such investigations shall not be subject to subpoena in civil actions. Records of investigations shall be kept by the Board and no part of any investigative record shall be released for any purpose other than a hearing before the Board or its designated hearing officer, review by another law enforcement agency or lawful licensing authority upon issuance of a subpoena from such agency or authority or at the discretion of the Board upon an affirmative vote of all members of the Board, review by the respondent after the service of a notice of hearing, review by the Board's legal counsel, or an appeal of a decision by the Board to a court of competent jurisdiction. After service of a notice of hearing, a respondent shall have a right to immediately obtain a copy of the investigative record pertaining to the respondent.
(e) Whenever the Board revokes or suspends for more than 60 days a license or certification or a school approval, or whenever an appraiser or an approved school surrenders a registration, license, certification, or an approval to the Board after the Board has filed a notice of hearing, the Board shall publish the name of such appraiser or school in its official newsletter and/or a newspaper of general circulation in the Territory.
(f) The Board shall have the authority to exclude all persons during the Board's or the staff of the Board's:
(1) deliberations on disciplinary proceedings;
(2) meetings with an appraiser or an applicant or the legal counsel of that appraiser or applicant in which the appraiser or applicant seeks to settle a contested case as provided in this chapter; or
(3) review of the results of investigations initiated under this chapter.