Section 4980.399.

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (a) of Section 4980.398, each applicant and registrant shall obtain a passing score on a board-administered California law and ethics examination in order to qualify for licensure.

(b) A registrant shall participate in a board-administered California law and ethics examination prior to his or her registration renewal.

(c) If an applicant fails the California law and ethics examination, he or she may retake the examination, upon payment of the required fees, without further application except as provided in subdivision (d).

(d) If a registrant fails to obtain a passing score on the California law and ethics examination described in subdivision (a) within his or her first renewal period on or after the operative date of this section, he or she shall complete, at a minimum, a 12-hour course in California law and ethics in order to be eligible to participate in the California law and ethics examination. Registrants shall only take the 12-hour California law and ethics course once during a renewal period. The 12-hour law and ethics course required by the section shall be taken through a board-approved continuing education provider, a county, state or governmental entity, or a college or university.

(e) The board shall not issue a subsequent registration number unless the registrant has passed the California law and ethics examination.

(f) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2014.

(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 799, Sec. 28. Effective January 1, 2013. Section initially operative January 1, 2014, by its own provisions.)