(a) (1) To ensure compliance with the laws and regulations of this chapter, the board’s executive officer and authorized representatives shall, except as provided by Section 159.5, have access to, and shall inspect, any establishment or mobile unit during business hours or at any time in which barbering, cosmetology, or electrolysis are being performed. It is the intent of the Legislature that inspections be conducted on Saturdays and Sundays as well as weekdays, if collective bargaining agreements and civil service provisions permit.

(2) The board shall maintain a program of random and targeted inspections of establishments to ensure compliance with applicable laws relating to the public health and safety and the conduct and operation of establishments. The board or its authorized representatives shall inspect establishments to reasonably determine compliance levels and to identify market conditions that require targeted enforcement. The board shall not reduce the number of employees assigned to perform random inspections, targeted inspections, and investigations relating to field operations below the level funded by the annual Budget Act and described in supporting budget documents, and shall not redirect funds or personnel-years allocated to those inspection and investigation purposes to other purposes.

(b) To ensure compliance with health and safety requirements adopted by the board, the executive officer and authorized representatives shall, except as provided in Section 159.5, have access to, and shall inspect the premises of, all schools in which the practice of barbering, cosmetology, or electrolysis is performed on the public. Notices of violation shall be issued to schools for violations of regulations governing conditions related to the health and safety of patrons. Each notice shall specify the section violated and a timespan within which the violation must be corrected. A copy of the notice of violation shall be provided to the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education.

(c) With prior written authorization from the board or its executive officer, any member of the board may enter and visit, in his or her capacity as a board member, any establishment, during business hours or at any time when barbering, cosmetology, or electrolysis is being performed. The visitation by a board member shall be for the purpose of conducting official board business, but shall not be used as a basis for any licensing disciplinary action by the board.

(d) The board shall adopt a protocol for inspecting establishments when an inspector has difficulty understanding or communicating with the owner, manager, or employees of the establishment due to language barriers. The board shall evaluate the protocol every two years to ensure the protocol remains current.

(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 430, Sec. 24. (AB 181) Effective January 1, 2016.)