A. If the Commission is of the opinion that any applicant for public adjuster license is not of good character or does not have a good reputation for honesty, it may refuse to issue the license, subject to the right of the applicant to demand a hearing on the application. If the Commission refuses to issue a new license, it shall give the applicant at least 10 calendar days' notice in writing of the time and place of the hearing, if a hearing is requested. The notice shall contain a statement of the objections to the issuance of the license. The notice may be given to the applicant by registered or certified mail, sent to the last known address of record, or the last known business address if the address of record is incorrect, or in any other lawful manner the Commission prescribes. The Commission may summon witnesses to testify with respect to the applicant, and the applicant may introduce evidence in his or its behalf. No applicant to whom a license is refused after a hearing shall again apply for a license until after the expiration of a period of five years from the date of the Commission's order or such other period as the Commission prescribes in its order.

B. The license of a business entity may be denied if the Commission finds, after notice and an opportunity to be heard, that a violation by an individual licensee acting at the direction of, on behalf of, or with the permission of the business entity was known to be a violation by one or more of the partners, officers, or managers acting on behalf of the business entity or if it can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Commission that responsibility for such violation by the individual can reasonably be imputed to one or more of the partners, officers, or managers acting on behalf of the business entity, and neither was the violation reported to the Commission nor corrective action taken.

C. In addition to or in lieu of any applicable denial of a license, a person may, after notice and an opportunity to be heard, be subject to a penalty pursuant to § 38.2-218.

D. The Commission shall retain the authority to enforce the provisions of and impose any penalty or remedy authorized by this title against any person who is under investigation for or charged with a violation of this title, even if the person's license or registration has been surrendered, terminated, suspended, revoked, or has lapsed by operation of law.

2012, cc. 734, 735.