Section 6980.10.

(a) No person shall engage within this state in the activities of a locksmith as defined in subdivision (j) of Section 6980, unless the person holds a valid locksmith license, is registered pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, or is exempt from the provisions of this chapter.

(b) Any person who does any of the following is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment:

(1) Acts as or represents himself or herself to be a licensee under this chapter when that person is not a licensee under this chapter.

(2) Falsely represents that he or she is employed by a licensee under this chapter when he or she is not employed by a licensee under this chapter.

(3) Carries a badge, identification card, or business card, indicating that he or she is a licensee under this chapter when he or she is not a licensee under this chapter.

(4) Uses a letterhead or other written or electronically generated materials indicating that he or she is a licensee under this chapter when he or she is not a licensee under this chapter.

(5) Advertises that he or she is a licensee under this chapter when he or she is not a licensee under this chapter.

(c) A proceeding to impose the fine specified in subdivision (b) may be brought in any court of competent jurisdiction in the name of the people of the State of California by the Attorney General or by any district attorney or city attorney, or with the consent of the district attorney, the city prosecutor in any city or city and county having a full-time city prosecutor for the jurisdiction in which the violation occurred. If the action is brought by the district attorney, the penalty collected shall be paid to the treasurer of the county in which the judgment is entered. If the action is brought by a city attorney or city prosecutor, one-half of the penalty collected shall be paid to the treasurer of the city in which the judgment was entered and one-half to the treasurer of the county in which the judgment was entered. If the action is brought by the Attorney General, all of the penalty collected shall be deposited in the Private Security Services Fund.

(Amended by Stats. 2008, Ch. 679, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2009.)