(a) Applications for a veterinary assistant controlled substance permit shall be upon a form furnished by the board.

(b) The fee for filing an application for a veterinary assistant controlled substance permit shall be set by the board in an amount the board determines is reasonably necessary to provide sufficient funds to carry out the purposes of this section, not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100).

(c) The board may suspend or revoke the controlled substance permit of a veterinary assistant after notice and hearing for any cause provided in this subdivision. The proceedings under this section shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions for administrative adjudication in Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, and the board shall have all the powers granted therein. The board may deny, revoke, or suspend a veterinary assistant controlled substance permit, or, subject to terms and conditions deemed appropriate by the board, issue a probationary veterinary assistant controlled substance permit, for any of the following reasons:

(1) The employment of fraud, misrepresentation, or deception in obtaining a veterinary assistant controlled substance permit.

(2) Chronic inebriety or habitual use of controlled substances.

(3) The applicant or permitholder has been convicted of a state or federal felony controlled substance violation.

(4) Violating or attempts to violate, directly or indirectly, or assisting in or abetting the violation of, or conspiring to violate, any provision of this chapter, or of the regulations adopted under this chapter.

(5) Conviction of a crime substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of veterinary medicine, veterinary surgery, or veterinary dentistry, in which case the record of the conviction shall be conclusive evidence.

(d) The board shall not issue a veterinary assistant controlled substance permit to any applicant with a state or federal felony controlled substance conviction.

(e) (1) As part of the application for a veterinary assistant controlled substance permit, the applicant shall submit to the Department of Justice fingerprint images and related information, as required by the Department of Justice for all veterinary assistant applicants, for the purposes of obtaining information as to the existence and content of a record of state or federal convictions and state or federal arrests and information as to the existence and content of a record of state or federal arrests for which the Department of Justice establishes that the person is free on bail or on his or her own recognizance pending trial or appeal.

(2) When received, the Department of Justice shall forward to the Federal Bureau of Investigation requests for federal summary criminal history information that it receives pursuant to this section. The Department of Justice shall review any information returned to it from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and compile and disseminate a response to the board summarizing that information.

(3) The Department of Justice shall provide a state or federal level response to the board pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (p) of Section 11105 of the Penal Code.

(4) The Department of Justice shall charge a reasonable fee sufficient to cover the cost of processing the request described in this subdivision.

(f) The board shall request from the Department of Justice subsequent notification service, as provided pursuant to Section 11105.2 of the Penal Code, for persons described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (e).

(g) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2015.

(Amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 571, Sec. 28. (SB 1480) Effective January 1, 2019.)