Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 154 / Friday, August 11, 2017 / Notices 37611 

1The Order to Show Cause stated that Registrant 

was authorized to prescribe controlled substances 

in Schedule V. 

2The Government submitted the Stipulated 

Surrender of License and Order before the Dental 

Board of California (hereinafter, DBC), the 

Accusation dated May 2, 2012, the Decision and 

Order of the DBC dated October 4, 2013, and the 

DBC Stipulated Settlement and Disciplinary Order 

dated July 31, 2013 with its Request for Final 

Agency Action (hereinafter, RFAA). GX 4 

(Appendices). 

Rules Governing Section 2255 

Proceedings. 

Rules of Evidence: 807. 

The text of the proposed rules and 

form and the accompanying Committee 

Notes are posted on the Judiciary’s Web 

site at: http://www.uscourts.gov/rulespolicies/proposed-amendmentspublished-public-comment. 

All written comments and suggestions 

with respect to the proposed 

amendments may be submitted on or 

after the opening of the period for 

public comment on August 15, 2017, 

but no later than February 15, 2018. 

Written comments must be submitted 

electronically, following the 

instructions provided on the Web site. 

All comments submitted will be posted 

on the Web site and available to the 

public. 

Public hearings are scheduled on the 

proposed amendments as follows: 

• Appellate Rules in Washington, DC, 

on November 9, 2017, and in Phoenix, 

Arizona, on January 5, 2018; 

• Bankruptcy Rules in Washington, 

DC, on January 17, 2018, and in 

Pasadena, California, on January 30, 

2018; 

• Criminal Rules in Chicago, Illinois, 

on October 24, 2017, and in Phoenix, 

Arizona, on January 5, 2018; and 

• Evidence Rules in Boston, 

Massachusetts, on October 27, 2017, and 

in Phoenix, Arizona, on January 5, 2018. 

Those wishing to testify must contact 

the Secretary by email at: Rules_

Support@ao.uscourts.gov, with a copy 

mailed to the address below, at least 30 

days before the hearing. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Rebecca A. Womeldorf, Secretary, 

Committee on Rules of Practice and 

Procedure of the Judicial Conference of 

the United States, Thurgood Marshall 

Federal Judiciary Building, One 

Columbus Circle NE., Suite 7–240, 

Washington, DC 20544, Telephone (202) 

502–1820. 

Dated: August 7, 2017. 

Rebecca A. Womeldorf, 

Secretary, Committee on Rules of Practice 

and Procedure, Judicial Conference of the 

United States. 

[FR Doc. 2017–16916 Filed 8–10–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 2210–55–P 

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 

Drug Enforcement Administration 

Luis C B Gomez, D.D.S. Decision and 

Order 

On May 5, 2017, the Assistant 

Administrator, Diversion Control 

Division, Drug Enforcement 

Administration (hereinafter, DEA or 

Government), issued an Order to Show 

Cause to Luis C B Gomez, D.D.S. 

(hereinafter, Registrant), the holder of 

Certificate of Registration No. 

AG1976971 in Chula Vista, California, 

pursuant to which he is authorized to 

prescribe controlled substances in 

Schedules II through IV.1 GX 1 

(Certification of Registration Status 

dated May 17, 2017). The Show Cause 

Order proposed the revocation of 

Registrant’s Certificate of Registration 

and the denial of any pending 

application for renewal or modification 

of Registrant’s registration on the 

ground that Registrant does not have 

authority to dispense controlled 

substances in California, the State in 

which he is registered. GX 3, at 1 (citing 

21 U.S.C. 824(a)(3)). 

As the jurisdictional basis for the 

proceeding, the Show Cause Order 

alleged that Registrant’s registration 

expires on September 30, 2017. Id. 

As the substantive grounds for the 

proceeding, the Show Cause Order 

alleged that Registrant currently lacks 

authority to ‘‘handle controlled 

substances in California,’’ voluntarily 

surrendered his California dental 

license ‘‘on approximately September 8, 

2016,’’ and subsequently ‘‘signed a 

Stipulated Surrender of License and 

Order before the Dental Board of 

California’’ on November 7, 2016.2 Id. at 

2. The Government asserted that 

Registrant’s ‘‘lack of authority to handle 

controlled substances in the State of 

California constitutes grounds to revoke 

. . . [his] registration.’’ Id. 

Citing 21 CFR 1301.43, the Show 

Cause Order notified Registrant of his 

right to request a hearing on the 

allegation or to submit a written 

statement while waiving his right to a 

hearing, the procedure for electing each 

option, and the consequence for failing 

to elect either option. Id. at 2. Citing 21 

U.S.C. 824(c)(2)(C), it notified Registrant 

of the opportunity to submit a corrective 

action plan. Id. at 3. 

The lead DEA Diversion Investigator 

(hereinafter, DI) assigned to Registrant’s 

matter executed a Declaration in which 

she stated that, on May 5, 2017, she 

personally served Registrant with a copy 

of the Order to Show Cause at his 

residence. GX 4, at 1. I find that the 

Government’s service of the Show Cause 

Order on Registrant was legally 

sufficient. 

The Government submitted a Request 

for Final Agency Action dated June 6, 

2017 and an evidentiary record to 

support the Show Cause Order’s 

allegations. In the RFAA, the 

Government represented that, ‘‘Thirty 

days passed from the date of service and 

Respondent requested no hearing on the 

OTSC, nor has he filed a written 

statement in lieu of requesting a 

hearing.’’ RFAA, at 1. 

Based on the Government’s 

representations and my review of the 

record, I find that more than 30 days 

have now passed since the date on 

which Registrant was served with the 

Show Cause Order and neither 

Registrant, nor anyone purporting to 

represent him, has requested a hearing 

or submitted a written statement while 

waiving his right to a hearing. 

Accordingly, I find that Registrant has 

waived his right to a hearing and his 

right to submit a written statement. 21 

CFR 1301.43(d). I therefore issue this 

Decision and Order based on the record 

submitted by the Government. 21 CFR 

1301.43(e). 

Findings of Fact 

Registrant’s DEA Registration 

Registrant currently holds DEA 

practitioner registration AG1976971 

authorizing him to dispense controlled 

substances in Schedules II through IV. 

GX 1, GX 2. This registration expires on 

September 30, 2017. Id. 

DEA practitioner registration 

AG1976971 is assigned to Registrant at 

‘‘232 Third Avenue, Ste A, 232 3rd 

Ave., Chula Vista, CA 91910.’’ Id. 

The Status of Registrant’s State License 

On November 15, 2016, the Dental 

Board of California ordered that Dental 

License No. 24551 was surrendered and 

accepted by the DBC. GX 4, Appendix 

A (Stipulated Surrender of License and 

Order). Pursuant to that Order, 

Registrant has lost ‘‘all rights and 

privileges as a dentist in California.’’ Id. 

at 2. 

Discussion 

Pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(3), the 

Attorney General is authorized to 

suspend or revoke a registration issued 

under section 823 of the Controlled 

Substances Act (hereinafter, CSA), 

‘‘upon a finding that the registrant . . . 

has had his State license . . . 

suspended, revoked, or denied by 

competent State authority and is no 

longer authorized by State law to engage 


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37612 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 154 / Friday, August 11, 2017 / Notices 

3 Dentistry and the practice of dentistry are 

addressed in Cal. Bus & Prof. Code § 1625 which 

states, among other things, that dentistry is the 

diagnosis or treatment of diseases and may include 

the use of ‘‘drugs.’’ 

4A physician, surgeon, dentist, veterinarian, 

naturopathic doctor . . ., podiatrist, or pharmacist 

. . ., or registered nurse . . ., or physician assistant 

. . ., or an optometrist . . . may prescribe for, 

furnish to, or administer controlled substances to 

his or her patient when the patient is suffering from 

a disease, ailment, injury, or infirmities attendant 

upon old age, other than addiction to a controlled 

substance. Cal. Health & Safety Code § 11210 

(2017). 

in the . . . dispensing of controlled 

substances.’’ With respect to a 

practitioner, the DEA has also long held 

that the possession of authority to 

dispense controlled substances under 

the laws of the State in which a 

practitioner engages in professional 

practice is a fundamental condition for 

obtaining and maintaining a 

practitioner’s registration. See, e.g., 

James L. Hooper, 76 FR 71,371 (2011), 

pet. for rev. denied, 481 Fed. Appx. 826 

(4th Cir. 2012); Frederick Marsh 

Blanton, 43 FR 27,616 (1978). 

This rule derives from the text of two 

provisions of the CSA. First, Congress 

defined the term ‘‘ ‘practitioner’ [to] 

mean[ ] a . . . physician, dentist, . . . 

or other person licensed, registered, or 

otherwise permitted, by . . . the 

jurisdiction in which he practices . . ., 

to distribute, dispense, [or] administer 

. . . a controlled substance in the 

course of professional practice . . . .’’ 

21 U.S.C. 802(21). Second, in setting the 

requirements for obtaining a 

practitioner’s registration, Congress 

directed that ‘‘[t]he Attorney General 

shall register practitioners . . . if the 

applicant is authorized to dispense . . . 

controlled substances under the laws of 

the State in which he practices.’’ 21 

U.S.C. 823(f). Because Congress has 

clearly mandated that a practitioner 

possess state authority in order to be 

deemed a practitioner under the CSA, 

the DEA has held repeatedly that 

revocation of a practitioner’s registration 

is the appropriate sanction whenever he 

is no longer authorized to dispense 

controlled substances under the laws of 

the State in which he practices. See, 

e.g., Hooper, 76 FR at 71,371–72; Sheran 

Arden Yeates, 71 FR 39,130, 39,131 

(2006); Dominick A. Ricci, 58 FR 51,104, 

51,105 (1993); Bobby Watts, 53 FR 

11,919, 11,920 (1988); Blanton, 43 FR at 

27,616. 

Under California law, section 1626 of 

the Business and Professions Code 

provides that ‘‘[i]t is unlawful for any 

person to engage in the practice of 

dentistry in the state . . . unless the 

person has a valid, unexpired license or 

special permit from the Board.’’ Cal. 

Bus. & Prof. Code § 1626 (2017).3

Further, section 11210 of the California 

Health and Safety Code sets out who 

may lawfully prescribe controlled 

substances in California other than for 

the treatment of addicts. California 

licensed dentists are among those lawful 

prescribers.4 See Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 

§ 11024 (2017). 

In this case, pursuant to the DBC 

Stipulated Surrender of License and 

Order, Registrant has lost all rights and 

privileges as a dentist in California. 

Supra. Consequently, under California 

law, Registrant is not currently 

authorized to handle controlled 

substances in that State. Supra. I, 

therefore, conclude that the record 

supports the revocation of Registrant’s 

registration because he does not possess 

authority to dispense controlled 

substances under the laws of California, 

the State in which he is registered. 21 

U.S.C. 824(a)(3). Thus, I find that 

Registrant is not entitled to maintain his 

DEA registration. Blanton, supra. 

Accordingly, I will order that his 

registration be revoked and that any 

pending application for the renewal or 

modification of his registration be 

denied. Id. 

Order 

Pursuant to the authority vested in me 

by 21 U.S.C. 824(a), as well as 28 CFR 

0.100(b), I order that DEA Certificate of 

Registration AG1976971 issued to Luis 

C B Gomez, D.D.S., be, and it hereby is, 

revoked. I further order that any 

pending application of Luis C B Gomez, 

D.D.S., to renew or modify this 

registration, as well as any other 

pending application by him for 

registration in the State of California, be, 

and it hereby is, denied. This order is 

effective September 11, 2017. 

Dated: August 2, 2017. 

Chuck Rosenberg, 

Acting Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2017–17011 Filed 8–10–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4410–09–P 

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 

Federal Bureau of Investigation 

[OMB Number 1110–NEW] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Proposed eCollection 

eComments Requested; Existing 

Collection in Use Without OMB Control 

Number Address Verification/Change 

Request Form (1–797) 

AGENCY: Criminal Justice Information 

Services Division, Department of 

Justice. 

ACTION: 30-Day notice. 

SUMMARY: Department of Justice (DOJ), 

Federal Bureau of Investigation, 

Criminal Justice Information Services 

Division will be submitting the 

following information collection request 

to the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) for review and approval in 

accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995. This proposed 

information collection was previously 

published in the Federal Register on 

March 16, 2017 allowing for a 60 day 

comment period. 

DATES: Comments are encourages and 

will be accepted for an additional 30 

day until September 11, 2017. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Written comments and/or suggestions 

regarding the items contained in this 

notice, especially the estimated public 

burden and associated response time, 

should be directed to Gerry Lynn 

Brovey, Supervisory Information 

Liaison Specialist, Federal Bureau of 

Investigation, Criminal Justice 

Information Services Division, 1000 

Custer Hollow Road; Clarksburg, WV 

26306; phone: 304–625–4320 or email 

glbrovey@ic.fbi.gov. Written comments 

and/or suggestions can also be sent to 

the Office of Management and Budget, 

Office of Information and Regulatory 

Affairs, Attention Department of Justice 

Desk Officer, Washington, DC 20503 or 

sent to OIRA_submissions@

omb.eop.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Written 

comments and suggestions from the 

public and affected agencies concerning 

the proposed collection of information 

are encouraged. Your comments should 

address one or more of the following 

four points: 

—Evaluate whether the proposed 

collection of information is necessary 

for the proper performance of the 

functions of the agency, including 

whether the information will have 

practical utility; 

—Evaluate the accuracy of the agencies 

estimate of the burden of the 


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