(a) (1) The commissioner shall provide information on the internet regarding the status of every license issued by the department in accordance with the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code) and the Information Practices Act of 1977 (Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1798) of Title 1.8 of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code).

(2) The public information to be provided on the internet shall include information on suspensions and revocations of licenses issued by the department and accusations filed pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code) relative to persons or businesses subject to licensure or regulation by the department.

(3) The public information shall not include personal information, including home telephone number, date of birth, or social security number. The commissioner shall disclose a licensee‘s address of record. However, the commissioner shall allow a licensee to provide a post office box number or other alternate address, instead of the licensee’s home address, as the address of record. This section shall not preclude the commissioner from also requiring a licensee who has provided a post office box number or other alternative mailing address as the licensee’s address of record to provide a physical business address or residence address only for the department’s internal administrative use and not for disclosure as the licensee’s address of record or disclosure on the internet.

(4) The public information shall also include whether a licensee is an associate licensee within the meaning of subdivision (a) of § 2079.13 of the Civil Code and, if the associate licensee is a broker, identify each responsible broker with whom the licensee is contractually associated as described in Section 10032 of this code or § 2079.13 of the Civil Code.

(b) For purposes of this section, “internet” has the meaning set forth in paragraph (6) of subdivision (f) of Section 17538.

(c) Upon petition by a licensee accompanied by a fee sufficient to defray costs associated with consideration of a petition, the commissioner may remove from the posting of discipline described in subdivision (a) an item that has been posted on the department’s internet website for no less than 10 years and for which the licensee provides evidence of rehabilitation indicating that the notice is no longer required in order to prevent a credible risk to members of the public utilizing licensed activity of the licensee. In evaluating a petition, the commissioner shall take into consideration other violations that present a credible risk to the members of the public since the posting of discipline requested for removal.

(d) The department may develop, through regulations, the amount of the fee and the minimum information to be included in a licensee’s petition, including, but not limited to, a written justification and evidence of rehabilitation pursuant to Section 482.

(e) “Posted” for purposes of this section is defined as the date of disciplinary action taken by the department.

(f) The department shall maintain a list of all licensees whose disciplinary records are altered as a result of a petition approved under subdivision (c). The department shall make the list accessible to other licensing bodies. The department shall update and provide the list to other licensing bodies as often as it modifies the records displayed on its internet website in response to petitions approved under subdivision (c).

(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 131, Sec. 6. (AB 1754) Effective January 1, 2024.)