The Republicans have continued this for the six years they have controlled congressional committees, following the long-standing practice of their Democratic counterparts before them. All states have some variation on the federal FOIA, applicable to many state records. It applies to state executive-branch agencies, and also covers most local government records. But it does not apply to the Assembly or Senate. All exemptions are, of course, justified, but sometimes only in the view of some powerful special interest.
Access requires approval by the board, composed mostly of doctors.
This is true, even though the supposed purpose of requiring professional licenses is to protect the public well-being. We, the people, don't need to see complaints against these license holders. We are free to speak about such issues but mostly in ignorance, except for personal experiences. The zeal for public access to complaints against state license holders becomes quickly tempered, however, when it concerns access to our own license records. For instance, there is strong opposition to allowing public access to driver license records.