(a) This section applies to the following certificates:

(1) Schoolbus.

(2) School pupil activity bus.

(3) Youth bus.

(4) General public paratransit vehicle.

(5) Vehicle used for the transportation of developmentally disabled persons.

(b) (1) The department shall revoke a certificate listed in subdivision (a) for three years if the certificate holder refuses to submit to a test for, fails to comply with the testing requirements for, or receives a positive test for a controlled substance, as specified in Part 382 (commencing with Section 382.101) of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations and Section 34520. However, the department shall not revoke a certificate under this paragraph if the certificate holder is in compliance with any rehabilitation or return to duty program that is imposed by the employer that meets the controlled substances and alcohol use and testing requirements set forth in Part 382 (commencing with Section 382.101) of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The driver shall be allowed to participate in a rehabilitation or return to duty program only once within a three-year period. The employer or program shall report any subsequent positive test result or drop from the program to the department on a form approved by the department.

(2) If an applicant refuses to submit to a test for, fails to comply with the testing requirements for, or receives a positive test for a controlled substance, the department shall refuse the application for a certificate listed in subdivision (a) for three years from the date of the confirmed positive test result.

(3) The carrier that requested the test shall report the refusal, failure to comply, or positive test result to the department not later than five days after receiving notification of the test result on a form approved by the department.

(4) The department shall maintain a record of any action taken for a refusal, failure to comply, or positive test result in the driving record of the applicant or certificate holder for three years from the date of the refusal, failure to comply, or positive test result.

(c) (1) The department may temporarily suspend a schoolbus, school pupil activity bus, youth bus, or general public paratransit driver certificate, or temporarily withhold issuance of a certificate to an applicant, if the holder or applicant is arrested for or charged with any sex offense, as defined in Section 44010 of the Education Code.

(2) Upon receipt of a notice of temporary suspension, or of the department’s intent to withhold issuance, of a certificate, the certificate holder or applicant may request a hearing within 10 days of the effective date of the department’s action.

(3) The department shall, upon request of the holder of, or applicant for, a certificate, within 10 working days of the receipt of the request, conduct a hearing on whether the public interest requires suspension or withholding of the certificate pursuant to paragraph (1).

(4) If the charge is dismissed or results in a finding of not guilty, the department shall immediately terminate the suspension or resume the application process, and shall expunge the suspension action taken pursuant to this subdivision from the record of the applicant or certificate holder.

(d) An applicant or holder of a certificate may reapply for a certificate whenever a felony or misdemeanor conviction is reversed or dismissed. A termination of probation and dismissal of charges pursuant to Section 1203.4 of the Penal Code or a dismissal of charges pursuant to Section 1203.4a of the Penal Code is not a dismissal for purposes of this section.

(e) The determination of the facts pursuant to this section is a civil matter which is independent of the determination of the person’s guilt or innocence, has no collateral estoppel effect on a subsequent criminal prosecution, and does not preclude the litigation of the same or similar facts in a criminal proceeding.

(Amended by Stats. 2005, Ch. 66, Sec. 7. Effective January 1, 2006.)