(a) Notwithstanding Section 650 or any other provision of law, it shall not be unlawful for a person licensed pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 1600) of Division 2 or any other person, to participate in or operate a group advertising and referral service for dentists if all of the following conditions are met:

(1) The patient referrals by the service result from patient-initiated responses to service advertising.

(2) The service advertises, if at all, in conformity with Section 651 and subdivisions (i) and (l) of Section 1680.

(3) The service does not employ a solicitor within the meaning of subdivision (j) of Section 1680.

(4) The service does not impose a fee on the member dentists dependent upon the number of referrals or amount of professional fees paid by the patient to the dentist.

(5) Participating dentists charge no more than their usual and customary fees to any patient referred.

(6) The service registers with the Dental Board of California, providing its name and address.

(7) The service files with the Dental Board of California a copy of the standard form contract that regulates its relationship with member dentists, which contract shall be confidential and not open to public inspection.

(8) If more than 50 percent of its referrals are made to one individual, association, partnership, corporation, or group of three or more dentists, the service discloses that fact in all public communications, including, but not limited to, communication by means of television, radio, motion picture, newspaper, book, or list or directory of healing arts practitioners.

(9) When member dentists pay any fee to the service, any advertisement by the service shall clearly and conspicuously disclose that fact by including a statement as follows: “Paid for by participating dentists.” In print advertisements, the required statement shall be in at least 9-point type. In radio advertisements, the required statement shall be articulated so as to be clearly audible and understandable by the radio audience. In television advertisements, the required statement shall be either clearly audible and understandable to the television audience, or displayed in a written form that remains clearly visible for at least five seconds to the television audience. This subdivision shall be operative on and after July 1, 1994.

(b) The Dental Board of California may adopt regulations necessary to enforce and administer this section.

(c) The Dental Board of California may suspend or revoke the registration of any service that fails to comply with paragraph (9) of subdivision (a). No service may reregister with the board if it has a registration that is currently under suspension for a violation of paragraph (9) of subdivision (a), nor may a service reregister with the board if it had a registration revoked by the board for a violation of paragraph (9) of subdivision (a) less than one year after that revocation.

(d) The Dental Board of California may petition the superior court of any county for the issuance of an injunction restraining any conduct that constitutes a violation of this section.

(e) It is unlawful and shall constitute a misdemeanor for a person to operate a group advertising and referral service for dentists without providing its name and address to the Dental Board of California.

(f) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this section not to otherwise affect the prohibitions provided in Section 650. The Legislature intends to allow the pooling of resources by dentists for the purposes of advertising.

(g) This section shall not be construed to authorize a referral service to engage in the practice of dentistry.

(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 426, Sec. 4. (SB 800) Effective January 1, 2016.)