SECTIONS 1-35 - California Statutes

BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE

SECTION 1-35

1. This act shall be known as the Business and Professions Code.

2. The provisions of this code in so far as they are substantially
the same as existing statutory provisions relating to the same
subject matter shall be construed as restatements and continuations
thereof, and not as new enactments.

3. All persons who, at the time this code goes into effect, hold
office under any of the acts repealed by this code, which offices are
continued by this code, shall continue to hold the same according to
the former tenure thereof.

4. No action or proceeding commenced before this code takes effect,
and no right accrued, is affected by the provisions of this code,
but all procedure thereafter taken therein shall conform to the
provisions of this code so far as possible.

5. No rights given by any license or certificate under any act
repealed by this code are affected by the enactment of this code or
by such repeal, but such rights shall hereafter be exercised
according to the provisions of this code.

6. All persons who, at the time this code goes into effect, are
entitled to a certificate under any act repealed by this code, are
thereby entitled to a certificate under the provisions of this code
so far as the provisions of this code are applicable.

7. Any conviction for a crime under any act repealed by this code,
which crime is continued as a public offense by this code,
constitutes a conviction under this code for any purpose for which it
constituted a conviction under the act repealed.

7.5. A conviction within the meaning of this code means a plea or
verdict of guilty or a conviction following a plea of nolo
contendere. Any action which a board is permitted to take following
the establishment of a conviction may be taken when the time for
appeal has elapsed, or the judgment of conviction has been affirmed
on appeal or when an order granting probation is made suspending the
imposition of sentence, irrespective of a subsequent order under the
provisions of Section 1203.4 of the Penal Code. However, a board may
not deny a license to an applicant who is otherwise qualified
pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 480.
Nothing in this section shall apply to the licensure of persons
pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 6000) of Division 3.

8. Unless the context otherwise requires, the general provisions
hereinafter set forth shall govern the construction of this code.

9. Division, part, chapter, article and section headings contained
herein shall not be deemed to govern, limit, modify, or in any manner
affect the scope, meaning, or intent of the provisions of this code.

10. Whenever, by the provisions of this code, a power is granted to
a public officer or a duty imposed upon such an officer, the power
may be exercised or duty performed by a deputy of the officer or by a
person authorized pursuant to law by the officer, unless it is
expressly otherwise provided.

11. Writing includes any form of recorded message capable of
comprehension by ordinary visual means. Whenever any notice, report,
statement, or record is required by this code, it shall be made in
writing in the English language unless it is otherwise expressly
provided.

12. Licenses issued under the provisions of this section expire at
12 midnight on the last day of the month of birth of licentiates of
the board.
On or before July 1, 1991, the board shall establish regulations
for the administration of a birth month renewal program. Each person
practicing chiropractic within this state shall, on or before the
last day of their month of birth of each year, after a license is
issued to them as herein provided, pay to the Board of Chiropractic
Examiners a renewal fee of two hundred fifty dollars ($250). The
secretary shall mail to all licensed chiropractors in this state, on
or before 60 days prior to the last day of the month of their birth
each year, a notice that the renewal fee will be due on or before the
last day of the month of their birth next following. Nothing in this
act shall be construed to require the receipts to be recorded in
like manner as original licenses. The failure, neglect or refusal of
any person holding a license or certificate to practice under this
act in the State of California to pay the annual fee during the time
their license remains in force shall, after a period of 60 days from
the last day of the month of their birth, automatically work a
forfeiture of his or her license or certificate, and it shall not be
restored except upon the written application therefor and the payment
to the board of a fee of twice the annual amount of the renewal fee
in effect at the time the restoration application is filed except
that a licentiate who fails, refuses or neglects to pay the annual
tax within a period of 60 days after the last day of the month of his
or her birth of each year shall not be required to submit to an
examination for the reissuance of the certificate.

12.5. Whenever in any provision of this code authority is granted
to issue a citation for a violation of any provision of this code,
that authority also includes the authority to issue a citation for
the violation of any regulation adopted pursuant to any provision of
this code.

13. The term "materia medica" as used in this code or in any
initiative act referred to in this code, means those substances
listed in the official United States Pharmacopoeia, the official
Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States, the official United
States Dispensatory, New and Nonofficial Remedies, or the National
Formulary, or any supplement thereof, except substances covered by
subdivision (a) of Section 4052 and Section 4057 of this code.

14. The present tense includes the past and future tenses; and the
future, the present. Each gender includes the other two genders.

14.1. The Legislature hereby declares its intent that the terms
"man" or "men" where appropriate shall be deemed "person" or "persons"
and any references to the terms "man" or "men" in sections of this
code be changed to "person" or "persons" when such code sections are
being amended for any purpose. This act is declaratory and not
amendatory of existing law.

15. "Section" means a section of this code unless some other
statute is specifically mentioned. "Subdivision" means a subdivision
of the section in which that term occurs, unless some other section
is expressly mentioned.

16. The singular number includes the plural, and the plural the
singular.

17. "County" includes city and county.

18. "City" includes city and county.

19. "Shall" is mandatory and "may" is permissive.

20. "Oath" includes affirmation.

21. "State" means the State of California, unless applied to the
different parts of the United States. In the latter case, it includes
the District of Columbia and the territories.

22. "Board," as used in any provision of this code, refers to the
board in which the administration of the provision is vested, and
unless otherwise expressly provided, shall include "bureau,"
"commission," "committee," "department," "division," "examining
committee," "program," and "agency."

23. "Department," unless otherwise defined, refers to the
Department of Consumer Affairs.
Wherever the laws of this state refer to the Department of
Professional and Vocational Standards, the reference shall be
construed to be to the Department of Consumer Affairs.

23.5. "Director," unless otherwise defined, refers to the Director
of Consumer Affairs.
Wherever the laws of this state refer to the Director of
Professional and Vocational Standards, the reference shall be
construed to be to the Director of Consumer Affairs.

23.6. "Appointing power," unless otherwise defined, refers to the
Director of Consumer Affairs.

23.7. Unless otherwise expressly provided, "license" means license,
certificate, registration, or other means to engage in a business or
profession regulated by this code or referred to in Section 1000 or
3600.

23.8. "Licentiate" means any person authorized by a license,
certificate, registration, or other means to engage in a business or
profession regulated by this code or referred to in Sections 1000 and
3600.

23.9. Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, any
individual who, while imprisoned in a state prison or other
correctional institution, is trained, in the course of a
rehabilitation program approved by the particular licensing agency
concerned and provided by the prison or other correctional
institution, in a particular skill, occupation, or profession for
which a state license, certificate, or other evidence of proficiency
is required by this code shall not, when released from the prison or
institution, be denied the right to take the next regularly scheduled
state examination or any examination thereafter required to obtain
the license, certificate, or other evidence of proficiency and shall
not be denied such license, certificate, or other evidence of
proficiency, because of his imprisonment or the conviction from which
the imprisonment resulted, or because he obtained his training in
prison or in the correctional institution, if the licensing agency,
upon recommendation of the Adult Authority or the Department of the
Youth Authority, as the case may be, finds that he is a fit person to
be licensed.

24. If any provision of this code, or the application thereof, to
any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of the
code, or the application of such provision to other persons or
circumstances, shall not be affected thereby.

25. Any person applying for a license, registration, or the first
renewal of a license, after the effective date of this section, as a
licensed marriage and family therapist, a licensed clinical social
worker or as a licensed psychologist shall, in addition to any other
requirements, show by evidence satisfactory to the agency regulating
the business or profession, that he or she has completed training in
human sexuality as a condition of licensure. The training shall be
creditable toward continuing education requirements as deemed
appropriate by the agency regulating the business or profession, and
the course shall not exceed more than 50 contact hours.
The Board of Psychology shall exempt any persons whose field of
practice is such that they are not likely to have use for this
training.
"Human sexuality" as used in this section means the study of a
human being as a sexual being and how he or she functions with
respect thereto.
The content and length of the training shall be determined by the
administrative agency regulating the business or profession and the
agency shall proceed immediately upon the effective date of this
section to determine what training, and the quality of staff to
provide the training, is available and shall report its determination
to the Legislature on or before July 1, 1977.
In the event that any licensing board or agency proposes to
establish a training program in human sexuality, the board or agency
shall first consult with other licensing boards or agencies which
have established or propose to establish a training program in human
sexuality to ensure that the programs are compatible in scope and
content.

26. Wherever, pursuant to this code, any state department, officer,
board, agency, committee, or commission is authorized to adopt rules
and regulations, such rules and regulations which are building
standards, as defined in Section 18909 of the Health and Safety Code,
shall be adopted pursuant to the provisions of Part 2.5 (commencing
with Section 18901) of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code
unless the provisions of Sections 18930, 18933, 18938, 18940, 18943,
18944, and 18945 of the Health and Safety Code are expressly excepted
in the provision of this code under which the authority to adopt the
specific building standard is delegated. Any building standard
adopted in violation of this section shall have no force or effect.
Any building standard adopted prior to January 1, 1980, pursuant to
this code and not expressly excepted by statute from such provisions
of the State Building Standards Law shall remain in effect only until
January 1, 1985, or until adopted, amended, or superseded by
provisions published in the State Building Standards Code, whichever
occurs sooner.

27. (a) Each entity specified in subdivision (b) shall provide on
the Internet information regarding the status of every license issued
by that entity in accordance with the California Public Records Act
(Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1
of the Government Code) and the Information Practices Act of 1977
(Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1798) of Title 1.8 of Part 4 of
Division 3 of the Civil Code). The public information to be provided
on the Internet shall include information on suspensions and
revocations of licenses issued by the entity and other related
enforcement action taken by the entity relative to persons,
businesses, or facilities subject to licensure or regulation by the
entity. In providing information on the Internet, each entity shall
comply with the Department of Consumer Affairs Guidelines for Access
to Public Records. The information may not include personal
information, including home telephone number, date of birth, or
social security number. Each entity shall disclose a licensee's
address of record. However, each entity shall allow a licensee to
provide a post office box number or other alternate address, instead
of his or her home address, as the address of record. This section
shall not preclude an entity from also requiring a licensee, who has
provided a post office box number or other alternative mailing
address as his or her address of record, to provide a physical
business address or residence address only for the entity's internal
administrative use and not for disclosure as the licensee's address
of record or disclosure on the Internet.
(b) Each of the following entities within the Department of
Consumer Affairs shall comply with the requirements of this section:
(1) The Acupuncture Board shall disclose information on its
licensees.
(2) The Board of Behavioral Sciences shall disclose information on
its licensees, including marriage and family therapists, licensed
clinical social workers, and licensed educational psychologists.
(3) The Dental Board of California shall disclose information on
its licensees.
(4) The State Board of Optometry shall disclose information
regarding certificates of registration to practice optometry,
statements of licensure, optometric corporation registrations, branch
office licenses, and fictitious name permits of its licensees.
(5) The Board for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors shall
disclose information on its registrants and licensees.
(6) The Structural Pest Control Board shall disclose information
on its licensees, including applicators, field representatives, and
operators in the areas of fumigation, general pest and wood
destroying pests and organisms, and wood roof cleaning and treatment.
(7) The Bureau of Automotive Repair shall disclose information on
its licensees, including auto repair dealers, smog stations, lamp and
brake stations, smog check technicians, and smog inspection
certification stations.
(8) The Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repair shall disclose
information on its licensees, including major appliance repair
dealers, combination dealers (electronic and appliance), electronic
repair dealers, service contract sellers, and service contract
administrators.
(9) The Cemetery and Funeral Bureau shall disclose information on
its licensees, including cemetery brokers, cemetery salespersons,
cemetery managers, crematory managers, cemetery authorities,
crematories, cremated remains disposers, embalmers, funeral
establishments, and funeral directors.
(10) The Professional Fiduciaries Bureau shall disclose
information on its licensees.
(11) The Contractors' State License Board shall disclose
information on its licensees in accordance with Chapter 9 (commencing
with Section 7000) of Division 3. In addition to information related
to licenses as specified in subdivision (a), the board shall also
disclose information provided to the board by the Labor Commissioner
pursuant to Section 98.9 of the Labor Code.
(12) The Board of Psychology shall disclose information on its
licensees, including psychologists, psychological assistants, and
registered psychologists.
(13) The Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education shall disclose
information on private postsecondary institutions under its
jurisdiction, including disclosure of notices to comply issued
pursuant to Section 94935 of the Education Code.
(c) "Internet" for the purposes of this section has the meaning
set forth in paragraph (6) of subdivision (e) of Section 17538.

27.6. The successor agency to the Bureau for Private Postsecondary
and Vocational Education shall transmit any available data regarding
school performance, including, but not limited to, attendance and
graduation rates, it receives from any schools under its jurisdiction
to the California Postsecondary Education Commission.

28. The Legislature finds that there is a need to ensure that
professionals of the healing arts who have demonstrable contact with
victims and potential victims of child, elder, and dependent adult
abuse, and abusers and potential abusers of children, elders, and
dependent adults are provided with adequate and appropriate training
regarding the assessment and reporting of child, elder, and dependent
adult abuse which will ameliorate, reduce, and eliminate the trauma
of abuse and neglect and ensure the reporting of abuse in a timely
manner to prevent additional occurrences.
The Board of Psychology and the Board of Behavioral Sciences shall
establish required training in the area of child abuse assessment
and reporting for all persons applying for initial licensure and
renewal of a license as a psychologist, clinical social worker,
professional clinical counselor, or marriage and family therapist.
This training shall be required one time only for all persons
applying for initial licensure or for licensure renewal.
All persons applying for initial licensure or renewal of a license
as a psychologist, clinical social worker, professional clinical
counselor, or marriage and family therapist shall, in addition to all
other requirements for licensure or renewal, have completed
coursework or training in child abuse assessment and reporting that
meets the requirements of this section, including detailed knowledge
of the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (Article 2.5 (commencing
with Section 11164) of Chapter 2 of Title 1 of Part 4 of the Penal
Code). The training shall meet all of the following requirements:
(a) Be obtained from one of the following sources:
(1) An accredited or approved educational institution, as defined
in Sections 2902, 4980.36, 4980.37, 4996.18, and 4999.12, including
extension courses offered by those institutions.
(2) A continuing education provider approved by the responsible
board.
(3) A course sponsored or offered by a professional association or
a local, county, or state department of health or mental health for
continuing education and approved by the responsible board.
(b) Have a minimum of seven contact hours.
(c) Include the study of the assessment and method of reporting of
sexual assault, neglect, severe neglect, general neglect, willful
cruelty or unjustifiable punishment, corporal punishment or injury,
and abuse in out-of-home care. The training shall also include
physical and behavioral indicators of abuse, crisis counseling
techniques, community resources, rights and responsibilities of
reporting, consequences of failure to report, caring for a child's
needs after a report is made, sensitivity to previously abused
children and adults, and implications and methods of treatment for
children and adults.
(d) An applicant shall provide the appropriate board with
documentation of completion of the required child abuse training.
The Board of Psychology and the Board of Behavioral Sciences shall
exempt an applicant who applies for an exemption from the
requirements of this section and who shows to the satisfaction of the
board that there would be no need for the training in his or her
practice because of the nature of that practice.
It is the intent of the Legislature that a person licensed as a
psychologist, clinical social worker, professional clinical
counselor, or marriage and family therapist have minimal but
appropriate training in the areas of child, elder, and dependent
adult abuse assessment and reporting. It is not intended that by
solely complying with the requirements of this section, a
practitioner is fully trained in the subject of treatment of child,
elder, and dependent adult abuse victims and abusers.
The Board of Psychology and the Board of Behavioral Sciences are
encouraged to include coursework regarding the assessment and
reporting of elder and dependent adult abuse in the required training
on aging and long-term care issues prior to licensure or license
renewal.

29. (a) The Board of Psychology and the Board of Behavioral
Sciences shall consider adoption of continuing education requirements
including training in the area of recognizing chemical dependency
and early intervention for all persons applying for renewal of a
license as a psychologist, clinical social worker, or marriage and
family therapist.
(b) Prior to the adoption of any regulations imposing continuing
education relating to alcohol and other chemical dependency, the
board and committee are urged to consider coursework to include, but
not necessarily be limited to, the following topics:
(1) Historical and contemporary perspectives on alcohol and other
drug abuse.
(2) Extent of the alcohol and drug abuse epidemic and its effects
on the individual, family, and community.
(3) Recognizing the symptoms of alcoholism and drug addiction.
(4) Making appropriate interpretations, interventions, and
referrals.
(5) Recognizing and intervening with affected family members.
(6) Learning about current programs of recovery, such as 12 step
programs, and how therapists can effectively utilize these programs.

29.5. In addition to other qualifications for licensure prescribed
by the various acts of boards under the department, applicants for
licensure and licensees renewing their licenses shall also comply
with Section 17520 of the Family Code.

30. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any board, as
defined in Section 22, and the State Bar and the Department of Real
Estate shall at the time of issuance of the license require that the
licensee provide its federal employer identification number, if the
licensee is a partnership, or his or her social security number for
all others.
(b) Any licensee failing to provide the federal identification
number or social security number shall be reported by the licensing
board to the Franchise Tax Board and, if failing to provide after
notification pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section
19528 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, shall be subject to the
penalty provided in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 19528
of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
(c) In addition to the penalty specified in subdivision (b), a
licensing board may not process any application for an original
license unless the applicant or licensee provides its federal
employer identification number or social security number where
requested on the application.
(d) A licensing board shall, upon request of the Franchise Tax
Board, furnish to the Franchise Tax Board the following information
with respect to every licensee:
(1) Name.
(2) Address or addresses of record.
(3) Federal employer identification number if the entity is a
partnership or social security number for all others.
(4) Type of license.
(5) Effective date of license or a renewal.
(6) Expiration date of license.
(7) Whether license is active or inactive, if known.
(8) Whether license is new or a renewal.
(e) For the purposes of this section:
(1) "Licensee" means any entity, other than a corporation,
authorized by a license, certificate, registration, or other means to
engage in a business or profession regulated by this code or
referred to in Section 1000 or 3600.
(2) "License" includes a certificate, registration, or any other
authorization needed to engage in a business or profession regulated
by this code or referred to in Section 1000 or 3600.
(3) "Licensing board" means any board, as defined in Section 22,
the State Bar, and the Department of Real Estate.
(f) The reports required under this section shall be filed on
magnetic media or in other machine-readable form, according to
standards furnished by the Franchise Tax Board.
(g) Licensing boards shall provide to the Franchise Tax Board the
information required by this section at a time that the Franchise Tax
Board may require.
(h) Notwithstanding Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of
Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, the social security
number and federal employer identification number furnished pursuant
to this section shall not be deemed to be a public record and shall
not be open to the public for inspection.
(i) Any deputy, agent, clerk, officer, or employee of any
licensing board described in subdivision (a), or any former officer
or employee or other individual who in the course of his or her
employment or duty has or has had access to the information required
to be furnished under this section, may not disclose or make known in
any manner that information, except as provided in this section to
the Franchise Tax Board or as provided in subdivision (k).
(j) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this section
to utilize the social security account number or federal employer
identification number for the purpose of establishing the
identification of persons affected by state tax laws and for purposes
of compliance with Section 17520 of the Family Code and, to that
end, the information furnished pursuant to this section shall be used
exclusively for those purposes.
(k) If the board utilizes a national examination to issue a
license, and if a reciprocity agreement or comity exists between the
State of California and the state requesting release of the social
security number, any deputy, agent, clerk, officer, or employee of
any licensing board described in subdivision (a) may release a social
security number to an examination or licensing entity, only for the
purpose of verification of licensure or examination status.
(l) For the purposes of enforcement of Section 17520 of the Family
Code, and notwithstanding any other provision of law, any board, as
defined in Section 22, and the State Bar and the Department of Real
Estate shall at the time of issuance of the license require that each
licensee provide the social security number of each individual
listed on the license and any person who qualifies the license. For
the purposes of this subdivision, "licensee" means any entity that is
issued a license by any board, as defined in Section 22, the State
Bar, the Department of Real Estate, and the Department of Motor
Vehicles.

31. (a) As used in this section, "board" means any entity listed in
Section 101, the entities referred to in Sections 1000 and 3600, the
State Bar, the Department of Real Estate, and any other state agency
that issues a license, certificate, or registration authorizing a
person to engage in a business or profession.
(b) Each applicant for the issuance or renewal of a license,
certificate, registration, or other means to engage in a business or
profession regulated by a board who is not in compliance with a
judgment or order for support shall be subject to Section 17520 of
the Family Code.
(c) "Compliance with a judgment or order for support" has the
meaning given in paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 17520 of
the Family Code.

32. (a) The Legislature finds that there is a need to ensure that
professionals of the healing arts who have or intend to have
significant contact with patients who have, or are at risk to be
exposed to, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) are provided
with training in the form of continuing education regarding the
characteristics and methods of assessment and treatment of the
condition.
(b) A board vested with the responsibility of regulating the
following licensees shall consider including training regarding the
characteristics and method of assessment and treatment of acquired
immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in any continuing education or
training requirements for those licensees: chiropractors, medical
laboratory technicians, dentists, dental hygienists, dental
assistants, physicians and surgeons, podiatrists, registered nurses,
licensed vocational nurses, psychologists, physician assistants,
respiratory therapists, acupuncturists, marriage and family
therapists, licensed educational psychologists, and clinical social
workers.

35. It is the policy of this state that, consistent with the
provision of high-quality services, persons with skills, knowledge,
and experience obtained in the armed services of the United States
should be permitted to apply this learning and contribute to the
employment needs of the state at the maximum level of responsibility
and skill for which they are qualified. To this end, rules and
regulations of boards provided for in this code shall provide for
methods of evaluating education, training, and experience obtained in
the armed services, if applicable to the requirements of the
business, occupation, or profession regulated. These rules and
regulations shall also specify how this education, training, and
experience may be used to meet the licensure requirements for the
particular business, occupation, or profession regulated. Each board
shall consult with the Department of Veterans Affairs and the
Military Department before adopting these rules and regulations. Each
board shall perform the duties required by this section within
existing budgetary resources of the agency within which the board
operates.