The Department of Consumer Affairs, or DCA, is a California state government department that is the umbrella organization over almost all California state licensing agencies, from the Medical Board of California  to the California Board of Accountancy.  If a California licensing agency receives a complaint or notice of alleged unprofessional conduct alleged to have been committed by a licensee, those investigations are often referred to the Department of Consumer Affairs Division of …

A state licensing agency has the power to appear in criminal court to ask the judge to suspend a defendant’s license while the criminal case is pending, as a condition of bail.  This request is made under Penal Code section 23, usually at the first court appearance (the arraignment) or early in the criminal prosecution process.  Typically it is a Deputy Attorney General from the California Department of Justice who appears for an agency,…

In a recent contested case against the Physical Therapy Board applicant, the Board’s attorneys insisted that because a ten-year-old theft conviction was not properly disclosed on an application for licensure, our prospective Physical Therapy Aide client did not deserve a license at all. After an administrative hearing where the facts and circumstances of the conviction and the disclosure were discussed in detail, the Administrative Law Judge granted the client an unrestricted license and dismissed the…

Our firm was successful in achieving a restricted license for an insurance producer who had a number of prior convictions, including a felony burglary conviction.   After the client initially applied for his insurance license, his application was summarily denied due to his record.  The California Department of Insurance has the right to summarily deny (without a hearing) an application of a convicted felon.  On client’s behalf his law firm, Ray and Bishop, petitioned for reconsideration…

Disciplinary cases brought by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, or CTC, typically start with a letter inquiring about a criminal conviction or other adverse report.  A teacher will typically respond with a letter of explanation and supporting documents.  After reviewing the response from the teacher, the Committee of Credentials of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing will issue a Notice of Committee Recommendation.   The Notice of Committee Recommendation will usually propose discipline against the…

The California Department of Business Oversight (DBO) licenses and regulates California finance lender licenses, or CFLs.  A CFL licensee is subject to regulatory examination.  Under California Finance Code section 22701, the commissioner of DBO may “at any time” investigate the records of a CFL licensee to discover violations.   A licensee is required to give “free access” to the Department’s examiner for purposes of these regulatory examinations. A California finance lender must comply with the records…

In California professional license law, at a contested hearing deciding an accusation or a statement of issues an administrative law judge only has the power to make a proposed decision, not a final decision.  The administrative agency – for example, the Medical Board of California or the California Department of Insurance – has delegated the task of hearing the case to an administrative law judge, but retains the ultimate power to make a decision on…