AB 2138: Licensing boards: denial of application: revocation or suspension of licensure: criminal conviction.

Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of various professions and vocations by boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law authorizes a board to deny, suspend, or revoke a license or take disciplinary action against a licensee on the grounds that the applicant or licensee has, among other things, been convicted of a crime, as specified. Existing law provides that a person shall not be denied a license solely on the basis that the person has been convicted of a felony if he or she has obtained a certificate of rehabilitation or that the person has been convicted of a misdemeanor if he or she has met applicable requirements of rehabilitation developed by the board, as specified. Existing law also prohibits a person from being denied a license solely on the basis of a conviction that has been dismissed, as specified. Existing law requires a board to develop criteria to aid it when considering the denial, suspension, or revocation of a license to determine whether a crime is substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of the business or profession the board regulates and requires a board to develop criteria to evaluate the rehabilitation of a person when considering the denial, suspension, or revocation of a license.

This bill would revise and recast those provisions to instead authorize a board to, among other things, deny, revoke, or suspend a license on the grounds that the applicant or licensee has been subject to formal discipline, as specified, or convicted of a crime only if the applicant or licensee has been convicted of a crime within the preceding 7 years from the date of application that is substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of the business or profession for which the application is made, regardless of whether the applicant was incarcerated for that crime, or if the applicant has been convicted of a crime that is substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of the business or profession for which the application is made and for which the applicant is presently incarcerated or for which the applicant was released from incarceration within the preceding 7 years, except as specified. The bill would prohibit a board from denying a person a license based on the conviction of a crime, or on the basis of acts underlying a conviction, as defined, for a crime, if the conviction has been dismissed or expunged, if the person has provided evidence of rehabilitation, if the person has been granted clemency or a pardon, or if an arrest resulted in a disposition other than a conviction.

The bill would require the board to develop criteria for determining whether a crime is substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of the business or profession. The bill would require a board to consider whether a person has made a showing of rehabilitation if certain conditions are met. The bill would require a board to follow certain procedures when requesting or acting on an applicants or licensees criminal history information. The bill would also require a board to annually submit a report to the Legislature and post the report on its Internet Web site containing specified deidentified information regarding actions taken by a board based on an applicant or licensees criminal history information.

Existing law authorizes a board to deny a license on the grounds that an applicant knowingly made a false statement of fact that is required to be revealed in the application for licensure.

This bill would prohibit a board from denying a license based solely on an applicants failure to disclose a fact that would not have been cause for denial of the license had the fact been disclosed.

Existing law authorizes a board, after a specified hearing requested by an applicant for licensure to take various actions in relation to denying or granting the applicant the license.

This bill would revise and recast those provisions to eliminate some of the more specific options that the board may take in these circumstances.

This bill would clarify that the existing above-described provisions continue to apply to the State Athletic Commission, the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, and the California Horse Racing Board.

This bill would also make necessary conforming changes.

This bill would make these provisions operative on July 1, 2020.