(a)
(1)A person shall not be employed as a gambling enterprise employee, or serve as an independent agent, except as provided in paragraph (2), unless he or she is the holder of one of the following:
(A)
A valid work permit issued in accordance with the applicable ordinance or regulations of the county, city, or city and county in which his or her duties are performed.
(B)
A work permit issued by the commission pursuant to regulations adopted by the commission for the issuance and renewal of work permits. A work permit issued by the commission shall be valid for two years.
(2)
An independent agent is not required to hold a work permit if he or she is not a resident of this state and has registered with the department in accordance with regulations.
(b)
A work permit shall not be issued by any city, county, or city and county to any person who would be disqualified from holding a state gambling license for the reasons specified in subdivisions (a) to (g), inclusive, of Section 19859.
(c)
The department may object to the issuance of a work permit by a city, county, or city and county for any cause deemed reasonable by the department, and if the department objects to issuance of a work permit, the work permit shall be denied.
(1)
The commission shall adopt regulations specifying particular grounds for objection to issuance of, or refusal to issue, a work permit.
(2)
The ordinance of any city, county, or city and county relating to issuance of work permits shall permit the department to object to the issuance of any permit.
(3)
Any person whose application for a work permit has been denied because of an objection by the department may apply to the commission for an evidentiary hearing in accordance with regulations.
(d)
Application for a work permit for use in any jurisdiction where a locally issued work permit is not required by the licensing authority of a city, county, or city and county shall be made to the department, and may be granted or denied for any cause deemed reasonable by the commission. If the commission denies the application, it shall include in its notice of denial a statement of facts upon which it relied in denying the application. Upon receipt of an
application for a work permit, the commission may issue a temporary work permit for a period not to exceed 120 days, pending completion of the background investigation by the department and official action by the commission with respect to the work permit application.
(e)
An order of the commission denying an application for, or placing restrictions or conditions on, a work permit, including an order declining to issue a work permit following review pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (c), may be reviewed in accordance with subdivision (e) of Section 19870.