There is in the state government, in the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency, a Department of Consumer Affairs.

The department is comprised of the following:

Bureau.

(aa) The Physical Therapy Board of California.

(ab) The Arbitration Review Program.

(ac) The Physician Assistant Board.

(ad) The Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensers Board.

(ae) The California Board of Occupational Therapy.

(af) The Osteopathic Medical Board of California.

(ag) The

California Board of Naturopathic Medicine.

(ah) The Dental Hygiene Board of California.

(ai) The Professional Fiduciaries Bureau.

(aj) The State Board of Chiropractic Examiners.

(ak) The Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers.

(al) The Structural Pest Control Board.

(am) Any other boards, offices, or officers subject to its jurisdiction by law.

The boards, bureaus, and commissions in the department are established for the purpose of ensuring that those private businesses and professions deemed to engage in activities which have potential impact upon the public health, safety, and welfare are adequately regulated in order to protect the people of California.

To this end, they establish minimum qualifications and levels of competency and license persons desiring to engage in the occupations they regulate upon determining that such persons possess the requisite skills and qualifications necessary to provide safe and effective services to the public, or register or otherwise certify persons in order to identify practitioners and ensure performance according to set and accepted professional standards. They provide a means for redress of grievances by investigating allegations of unprofessional conduct, incompetence, fraudulent action, or unlawful activity brought to their attention by members of the public and institute disciplinary action against persons licensed or registered under the provisions of this code when such action is warranted. In addition, they conduct periodic checks of licensees, registrants, or otherwise certified persons in order to ensure compliance with the relevant sections of this code.

notice.

Upon the request of any board regulating, licensing, or controlling any professional or vocational occupation created by an initiative act, the Director of Consumer Affairs may take over the duties of the board under the same conditions and in the same manner as provided in this code for other boards of like character. Such boards shall pay a proportionate cost of the administration of the department on the same basis as is charged other boards included within the department. Upon request from any such board which has adopted the provisions of Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code as rules of procedure in proceedings before it, the director shall assign hearing officers for such proceedings in accordance with Section 110.5.

committee to regulate, as directed by the entity, the profession subject to the authority that has been delegated. The entity may delegate to the technical committee only those powers that it received pursuant to the interagency agreement with the director. The technical committee shall have only those powers that have been delegated to it by the entity.

is subject to the director’s delegation of authority to the entity.

Each member of a board, commission, or committee created in the various chapters of Division 2 (commencing with Section 500) and Division 3 (commencing with Section 5000), and in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 18600) and Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 19000) of Division 8, shall receive the moneys specified in this section when authorized by the respective provisions.

Each such member shall receive a per diem of one hundred dollars ($100) for each day actually spent in the discharge of official duties, and shall be reimbursed for traveling and other expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of official duties.

The payments

in each instance shall be made only from the fund from which the expenses of the agency are paid and shall be subject to the availability of money.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no public officer or employee shall receive per diem salary compensation for serving on those boards, commissions, or committees on any day when the officer or employee also received compensation for the officer or employee’s regular public employment.

All boards or other regulatory entities within the department’s jurisdiction that the department determines to be health-related may adopt regulations to require licensees to display their licenses or registrations in the locality in which they are treating patients, and to inform patients as to the identity of the regulatory agency they may contact if they have any questions or complaints regarding the licensee. In complying with this requirement, those boards may take into consideration the particular settings in which licensees practice, or other circumstances which may make the displaying or providing of information to the consumer extremely difficult for the licensee in their particular type of practice.

Members of boards in the department shall take an oath of office as provided in the Constitution and the Government Code.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, each member of a board, commission, examining committee, or other similarly constituted agency within the department shall hold office until the appointment and qualification of that member’s successor or until one year shall have elapsed since the expiration of the term for which the member was appointed, whichever first occurs.

The appointing authority has power to remove from office at any time any member of any board appointed by the appointing authority for continued neglect of duties required by law, or for incompetence, or unprofessional or

dishonorable conduct. Nothing in this section shall be construed as a limitation or restriction on the power of the

appointing authority conferred on the appointing authority by any other provision of law to remove any member of any board.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Governor may remove from office a member of a board or other licensing entity in the department if it is shown that such member has knowledge of the specific questions to be asked on the licensing entity’s next examination and directly or indirectly discloses any such question or questions in advance of or during the examination to any applicant for that examination.

The proceedings for removal shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 5 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, and the Governor shall have all the powers granted therein.

Pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 4 of Article VII of the California Constitution, each board may appoint a person exempt from civil service, who shall be designated as an executive officer unless the licensing act of the particular board designates the person as a registrar, and may fix that person’s salary, with the approval of the Department of Human Resources pursuant to Section 19825 of the Government Code.

If any board in the department uses an official seal pursuant to any provision of this code, the seal shall contain the words “State of California” and “Department of Consumer Affairs” in addition to the title of the board, and shall be in a form approved by the director.

Each of the boards comprising the department exists as a separate unit, and has the functions of setting standards, holding meetings, and setting dates thereof, preparing and conducting examinations, passing upon applicants, conducting investigations of violations of laws under its jurisdiction, issuing citations and holding hearings for the revocation of licenses, and the imposing of penalties following those hearings, insofar as these powers are given by statute to each respective board.

In any investigation, proceeding, or hearing that any board, commission, or officer in the department is empowered to institute, conduct, or hold, any witness appearing at the investigation, proceeding, or hearing whether upon a subpoena or voluntarily, may be paid the sum of twelve dollars ($12) per day for every day in actual attendance at the investigation, proceeding, or hearing and for the witness’s actual, necessary, and reasonable expenses and those sums shall be a legal charge against the funds of the respective board, commission, or officer; provided further, that no witness appearing other than at the instance of the board, commission, or officer may be compensated out of the fund.

The board, commission, or officer shall determine the sums due to any witness and enter the amount on its minutes.

The term “intervene,” as used in paragraph (c) of this section may include, but is not limited to, an application for a restraining order or injunctive relief as specified in Section 123.5, or a referral or request for criminal prosecution. For purposes of this section, the director shall be deemed to have standing under Section 123.5 and shall seek representation of the Attorney General, or other appropriate counsel in the event of a conflict in pursuing that action.

The department shall have possession and control of all records, books, papers, offices, equipment, supplies, funds, appropriations, land and other property—real or personal—now or hereafter held for the benefit or use of all of the bodies, offices or officers comprising the department. The title to all property held by any of these bodies, offices or officers for the use and benefit of the state, is vested in the State of California to be held in the possession of the department. Except as authorized by a board, the department shall not have the possession and control of examination questions prior to submission to applicants at scheduled examinations.

Unless otherwise expressly provided, any board may, with the approval of the appointing power, appoint qualified persons, who shall be designated as commissioners on examination, to give the whole or any portion of any examination. A commissioner on examination need not be a member of the board but shall have the same qualifications as one and shall be subject to the same rules.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, no agency in the department, with the exception of the Board for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, shall be required to compile, publish, sell, or otherwise distribute a directory. When an agency deems it necessary to compile and publish a directory, the agency shall cooperate with the director in determining its form and content, the time and frequency of its publication, the persons to whom it is to be sold or otherwise distributed, and its price if it is sold. Any agency that requires the approval of the director for the compilation, publication, or distribution of a directory, under the law in effect at the time the amendment made to this section at the 1970 Regular Session of the Legislature becomes effective, shall continue to require that approval. As used in this section, “directory” means a directory, roster, register, or similar compilation of the names of persons who hold a license, certificate, permit, registration, or similar indicia of authority from the agency.