South Carolina § 43-35-590 - Confidential and public information.

§ 43-35-590. Confidential and public information.

(A) All information and records acquired by the unit and the committee in the exercise of their duties and responsibilities pursuant to this article are confidential, exempt from disclosure under Chapter 4, Title 30, the Freedom of Information Act, and only may be disclosed as necessary to carry out the unit's and committee's purposes and responsibilities.

(B) Statistical compilations of data that do not contain information that would permit the identification of a person to be ascertained are public records.

(C) Reports of the unit and the committee that do not contain information that would permit the identification of a person to be ascertained are public information.

(D) Except as necessary to carry out the unit's and committee's duties and responsibilities, unit personnel and members of the committee and persons attending meetings may not disclose what transpired at a meeting that is not public under Section 43-35-580 and may not disclose information, the disclosure of which is prohibited by this section.

(E) Members of the committee, persons attending a committee meeting, and persons who present information to the committee may not be required to disclose in any civil or criminal proceeding information presented in or opinions formed as a result of the meeting, except that information available from other sources is not immune from introduction into evidence through those sources solely because it was presented during proceedings of the committee or unit or because it is maintained by the committee or unit. Nothing in this subsection may be construed to prevent a person from testifying to information obtained independently of the committee or which is public information.

(F) Information, documents, and records of the unit and of the committee are not subject to subpoena, discovery, or the Freedom of Information Act, except that information, documents, and records otherwise available from other sources are not immune from subpoena, discovery, or the Freedom of Information Act through those sources solely because they were presented during proceedings of the unit or committee or because they are maintained by the unit or the committee.

(G) A person who knowingly violates a provision of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than six months, or both.

HISTORY: 2006 Act No. 301, SECTION 9, eff May 23, 2006.