(a) The commission shall have the authority to obtain and review criminal history information to determine whether an applicant or licensee has been convicted of any offense or has been arrested for any offense for which disposition is still pending. A conviction, or a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to an offense, may be cause to deny an application or take disciplinary action against a licensee dependent on the relevancy of the offense to the licensed activity.

(b) The commission may require applicants to submit two sets of fingerprints which shall be furnished to the Department of Justice. Upon the request of the commission, the Department of Justice shall submit one set of the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation to obtain a copy of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s record and shall retain one set to search the California criminal history system.

Terms Used In California Business and Professions Code 18859

  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • 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
  • Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
  • Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.

(Added by renumbering Section 18868 by Stats. 2015, Ch. 316, Sec. 14. (SB 469) Effective January 1, 2016.)