(a)
The board or county agricultural commissioners, when acting pursuant to Section 8616.4, may suspend the right of a structural pest control licensee or registered company to work in a county for up to three working days or, for a licensee, registered company, or an unlicensed individual acting as a licensee, may levy an administrative fine up to one thousand dollars ($1,000) or direct the licensee to attend and pass a board-approved course of instruction at a cost not to exceed the administrative fine, or both, for each violation of this chapter or Chapter 14.5 (commencing with Section 8698), or any regulations adopted pursuant to these chapters, or Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 12751), Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 14001), Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 14101), or Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 15201) of Division 7 of the Food and Agricultural Code, or any regulations adopted pursuant to those chapters, relating to pesticides. However, any violation determined by the board or the commissioner to be a serious violation as defined in Section 1922 of Title 16 of the California Code of Regulations shall be subject to a fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each violation. Fines collected shall be paid to the Education and Enforcement Account in the Structural Pest Control Education and Enforcement Fund. Suspension may include all or part of the registered company’s business within the county based on the nature of the violation, but shall, whenever possible, be restricted to that portion of a registered company’s business in a county that was in violation.
(b)
A licensee who passes a course pursuant to this section shall not be awarded continuing
education credit for that course.
(c)
Before a suspension action is taken, a fine levied, or a licensee is required to attend and pass a board-approved course of instruction, the person charged with the violation shall be provided a written notice of the proposed action, including the nature of the violation, the amount of the proposed fine or suspension, or the requirement to attend and pass a board-approved course of instruction. The notice of proposed action shall inform the person charged with the violation that if he or she desires a hearing before the commissioner issuing the proposed action to contest the finding of a violation, that hearing shall be requested by written notice to the commissioner within 20 days of the date of receipt of the written notice of proposed action.
(d)
A notice of the proposed action that is sent by certified mail to the last known address of the
person charged shall be considered received even if delivery is refused or the notice is not accepted at that address.
(e)
If a hearing is requested, notice of the time and place of the hearing shall be given at least 10 days before the date set for the hearing. At the hearing, the person shall be given an opportunity to review the commissioner’s evidence and a right to present evidence on his or her own behalf. If a hearing is not requested within the prescribed time, the commissioner may take the action proposed without a hearing.
(f)
If the person upon whom the commissioner imposed a fine or suspension or required attendance at a board-approved course of instruction requested and appeared at a hearing before the commissioner, the person may appeal the commissioner’s decision to the Disciplinary Review Committee and shall be subject to the procedures in Section 8662.
(g)
If a suspension or fine is ordered, it may not take effect until 20 days after the date of the commissioner’s decision if no appeal is filed. If an appeal pursuant to Section 8662 is filed, the commissioner’s order shall be stayed until 30 days after the Disciplinary Review Committee has ruled on the appeal.
(h)
Failure of a licensee or registered company to pay a fine within 30 days of the date of assessment or to comply with the order of suspension, unless the citation is being appealed, may result in disciplinary action being taken by the board.
(i)
If a citation containing a fine is issued to a licensee and it is not contested or the time to appeal the citation has expired and the fine is not paid, the full amount of the assessed fine shall be added to the fee for renewal of that license. A license shall not be
renewed without payment of the renewal fee and fine.
(j)
If a citation containing a fine is issued to a registered company and it is not contested or the time to appeal the citation has expired and the fine is not paid, the board shall not sell to the registered company any pesticide use stamps until the assessed fine has been paid.
(k)
If a citation containing the requirement that a licensee attend and pass a board-approved course of instruction is not contested or the time to appeal the citation has expired and the licensee has not attended and passed the required board-approved course of instruction, the licensee’s license shall not be renewed without proof of attendance and passage of the required board-approved course of instruction.
(l)
Once final action pursuant to this section is taken, no other
administrative or civil action may be taken by any state governmental agency for the same violation. However, action taken pursuant to this section may be used by the board as evidence of prior discipline, and multiple local actions may be the basis for statewide disciplinary action by the board pursuant to Section 8620. A certified copy of the order of suspension or fine issued pursuant to this section or Section 8662 shall constitute conclusive evidence of the occurrence of the violation.
(m)
If the board is the party issuing the notice of proposed action to suspend or impose a fine pursuant to subdivision (a), “commissioner” as used in subdivisions (c), (f), and (g) includes the board’s registrar.
(n)
An action brought pursuant to this section shall be commenced by the commissioner within two years of the occurrence of the violation. If a commissioner submits a completed
investigation to the board for action by the registrar or the Attorney General, the action shall be commenced within one year of that submission.