COVID-19 emergency order violation: license revocation.

Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of various professions and vocations by boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs and provides for the denial, suspension, and revocation of licenses for specified conduct. Existing law provides for the regulation of healing arts by various boards. Existing law authorizes boards to impose fines or penalties, as provided. Existing law, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, which is administered by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, regulates the application, issuance, and suspension of alcoholic beverage licenses. The act provides the grounds upon which the department may suspend or revoke licenses and impose fines and penalties, as provided. This bill would prohibit the Department of Consumer Affairs, a board within the Department of Consumer Affairs that does not regulate healing arts licensees, and the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control from revoking a license or imposing a fine or penalty for failure to comply with any COVID-19 state of emergency orders or COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, unless the board or department can prove that lack of compliance resulted in transmission of COVID-19. The bill would specify that the provisions do not preclude issuance of fines, penalties, or revoking a license for any action that is not related to the issuance of any COVID-19 state of emergency orders or COVID-19 stay-at-home order. The provisions of the bill would remain in effect until either the COVID-19 state of emergency is terminated or all COVID-19 stay-at-home orders are no longer in effect, whichever occurs later, but in no case would the provisions remain in effect after January 1, 2024. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.