(Added with a 1998 Prop. 105 clause pursuant to L19, Ch. 318)

A. Independent third-party laboratories shall be certified by the department.

B. After receiving an application for an independent third-party laboratory, the department shall certify the independent third-party laboratory and issue a certificate and a random twenty-digit alphanumeric identification number if:

1. The prospective independent third-party laboratory has submitted all of the following:

(a) The application fee.

(b) An application, that includes:

(i) The legal name of the independent third-party laboratory.

(ii) The physical address of the independent third-party laboratory, which may not be within five hundred feet of a public or private school existing before the date of the independent third-party laboratory’s application.

(iii) The name, address and date of birth of the owner of the independent third-party laboratory.

(iv) The name, address and date of birth of each independent third-party laboratory agent.

(c) Policies and procedures consistent with department rules and the requirements of section 36-2803.

(d) If the city, town or county in which the independent third-party laboratory would be located has enacted zoning restrictions, a sworn statement certifying that the independent third-party laboratory is in compliance with the restrictions.

2. The independent third-party laboratory’s owner and agents have not been convicted of an excluded felony offense.

3. The independent third-party laboratory’s owner and agents are at least twenty-one years of age.

C. Certified independent third-party laboratories are subject to reasonable inspection by the department.

D. The department may conduct a criminal records check in order to carry out this section.