(a) The department shall notify the applicant or holder in writing of the department’s decision to bring charges to deny or revoke a license.

(1) The notice shall inform the applicant or holder of the charges against him or her, of the department’s proposed disciplinary action, and of his or her rights under this chapter.

(2) The notice shall be served by certified mail to the applicant’s or holder’s last known address.

(3) The notice shall be mailed to the applicant or holder at least 30 calendar days in advance of the impending action.

(b) The department’s proposed action shall become final unless the applicant or holder appeals prior to the end of the notice period by submitting a notice of defense to the department in a form specified by the department. The notice shall be transmitted to the department in a form that is written, including, but not limited to, by facsimile.

(c) If the department receives a timely notice of defense, the department shall schedule a hearing within 90 calendar days of receipt of the notice of defense. Pending the final decision at the conclusion of the hearing, a revocation shall be stayed.

(d) Proceedings for the revocation or denial of a license issued under this chapter shall be conducted by hearing officers appointed for that purpose by the department. The department may elect to use hearing officers employed by the Office of Administrative Hearings. The hearing officers shall be independent of the Market Enforcement Bureau, but may be employees of the department. The hearing officers shall be qualified administrative law judges.

(e) Proceedings shall be conducted generally in accordance with the provisions of Chapters 4.5 (commencing with Section 11400) and 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. However, proceedings need not conform strictly to any “rules of court” adopted as regulations by the Office of Administrative Hearings to guide the conduct of hearings conducted by the Office of Administrative Hearings. The department has all power granted by Chapters 4.5 (commencing with Section 11400) and 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

(1) The sole parties to the proceedings shall be the department and the applicant or holder. Third party intervention shall not be permitted. The disputes, claims, and interests of third parties shall not be within the jurisdiction of the proceedings. However, nothing in this paragraph prohibits any interested party from submitting an amicus brief if the hearing officer requests written briefs.

(2) The validity of a department regulation or order shall not be within jurisdiction of the proceedings.

(3) Law and motion matters shall be handled by the assigned hearing officer.

(4) The hearing officer may not enter into settlement discussions.

(5) The hearing officer may not issue sanctions.

(f) In all proceedings conducted in accordance with this section, the standard of proof to be applied is the preponderance of the evidence. When the department seeks to revoke an existing license, the department shall have the burden of proof and the burden of producing evidence.

(g) Decisions following a hearing shall be adopted by the department or the department’s designee and become final unless remanded for reconsideration or alternated in accordance with Chapters 4.5 (commencing with Section 11400) and 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

(h) The department shall maintain a library of decisions that shall be made available to any person, including the parties to administrative actions during discovery.

(Repealed and added by Stats. 1997, Ch. 696, Sec. 27. Effective January 1, 1998.)