(a) Notwithstanding any other law, individuals or entities contracting with the department or any board within the department for the provision of services relating to the treatment and rehabilitation of licensees impaired by alcohol or dangerous drugs shall retain all records and documents pertaining to those services until such time as these records and documents have been reviewed for audit by the department. These records and documents shall be retained for three years from the date of the last treatment or service rendered to that licensee, after which time the records and documents may be purged and destroyed by the contract vendor. This provision shall supersede any other law relating to the purging or destruction of records pertaining to those treatment and rehabilitation programs.

(b) Unless otherwise expressly provided by statute or regulation, all records and documents pertaining to services for the treatment and rehabilitation of licensees impaired by alcohol or dangerous drugs provided by any contract vendor to the department or to any board within the department shall be kept confidential and are not subject to discovery or subpoena.

Terms Used In California Business and Professions Code 156.1

  • board: means any entity listed in Section 101, the entities referred to in Sections 1000 and 3600, the State Bar, the Department of Real Estate, and any other state agency that issues a license, certificate, or registration authorizing a person to engage in a business or profession. See California Business and Professions Code 31
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • Licensee: means any person authorized by a license, certificate, registration, or other means to engage in a business or profession regulated by this code or referred to in Sections 1000 and 3600. See California Business and Professions Code 23.8
  • State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Business and Professions Code 21
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which that term occurs, unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Business and Professions Code 15
  • Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.

(c) With respect to all other contracts for services with the department, or any board within the department other than those set forth in subdivision (a), the director or chief deputy director may request an examination and audit by the department’s internal auditor of all performance under the contract. For this purpose, all documents and records of the contract vendor in connection with such performance shall be retained by the vendor for a period of three years after final payment under the contract. Nothing in this section shall affect the authority of the State Auditor to conduct any examination or audit under the terms of § 8546.7 of the Government Code.

(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 351, Sec. 42. (AB 496) Effective January 1, 2020.)

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