2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 1.5 - DENIAL, SUSPENSION AND REVOCATION OF LICENSES › CHAPTER 2 - Denial of Licenses › Section 480.2.

480.2. (a) The Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, the State Athletic Commission, and the California Horse Racing Board may deny a license regulated by it on the grounds that the applicant has one of the following:
(1) Been convicted of a crime.
(2) Done any act involving dishonesty, fraud, or deceit with the intent to substantially benefit themselves or another, or substantially injure another.
(3) (A) Done any act that if done by a licentiate of the business or profession in question, would be grounds for suspension or revocation of license.
(B) The Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, the State Athletic Commission, and the California Horse Racing Board may deny a license pursuant to this subdivision only if the crime or act is substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of the business or profession for which the application is made.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, a person shall not be denied a license solely on the basis that the person has been convicted of a felony if that person has obtained a certificate of rehabilitation under Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 4852.01) of Title 6 of Part 3 of the Penal Code or that the person has been convicted of a misdemeanor if the person has met all applicable requirements of the criteria of rehabilitation developed by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, the State Athletic Commission, and the California Horse Racing Board to evaluate the rehabilitation of a person when considering the denial of a license under paragraph (1) of subdivision (f).
(c) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this code, a person shall not be denied a license by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, the State Athletic Commission, or the California Horse Racing Board solely on the basis of a conviction that has been dismissed pursuant to Section 1203.4, 1203.4a, 1203.41, or 1203.425 of the Penal Code. An applicant who has a conviction that has been dismissed pursuant to Section 1203.4, 1203.4a, or 1203.41 of the Penal Code shall provide proof of the dismissal.
(d) The Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, the State Athletic Commission, and the California Horse Racing Board may deny a license regulated by it on the ground that the applicant knowingly made a false statement of fact that is required to be revealed in the application for the license.
(e) The Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, the State Athletic Commission, and the California Horse Racing Board shall develop criteria to aid it, when considering the denial, suspension, or revocation of a license, to determine whether a crime or act is substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of the business or profession it regulates.
(f) (1) The Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, the State Athletic Commission, and the California Horse Racing Board shall develop criteria to evaluate the rehabilitation of a person either when:
(A) Considering the denial of a license under this section.
(B) Considering suspension or revocation of a license under Section 490.
(2) The Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, the State Athletic Commission, and the California Horse Racing Board shall take into account all competent evidence of rehabilitation furnished by the applicant or licensee.
(g) Except as otherwise provided by law, following a hearing requested by an applicant pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 485, the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, the State Athletic Commission, and the California Horse Racing Board may take any of the following actions:
(1) Grant the license effective upon completion of all licensing requirements by the applicant.
(2) Grant the license effective upon completion of all licensing requirements by the applicant, immediately revoke the license, stay the revocation, and impose probationary conditions on the license, which may include suspension.
(3) Deny the license.
(4) Take other action in relation to denying or granting the license as the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, the State Athletic Commission, or the California Horse Racing Board, in its discretion, may deem proper.
(h) Notwithstanding any other law, in a proceeding conducted by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, the State Athletic Commission, or the California Horse Racing Board to deny an application for a license or to suspend or revoke a license or otherwise take disciplinary action against a person who holds a license, upon the ground that the applicant or the licensee has been convicted of a crime substantially related to the qualifications, functions, and duties of the licensee in question, the record of conviction of the crime shall be conclusive evidence of the fact that the conviction occurred, but only of that fact, and the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, the State Athletic Commission, and the California Horse Racing Board may inquire into the circumstances surrounding the commission of the crime in order to fix the degree of discipline or to determine if the conviction is substantially related to the qualifications, functions, and duties of the licensee in question.
(i) Notwithstanding Section 7.5, a conviction within the meaning of this section means a plea or verdict of guilty or a conviction following a plea of nolo contendere. Any action that the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, the State Athletic Commission, or the California Horse Racing Board is permitted to take following the establishment of a conviction may be taken when the time for appeal has elapsed, the judgment of conviction has been affirmed on appeal, or when an order granting probation is made suspending the imposition of sentence, irrespective of a subsequent order under the provisions of Section 1203.4, 1203.4a, 1203.41, or 1203.425 of the Penal Code.
(j) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2020.
(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 578, Sec. 3. (AB 1076) Effective January 1, 2020.)