Title BPC — California Bus. & Prof. Code

Any person who violates this article is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed six months, or a fine of not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both, for each violation.

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that there have been situations where homeowners have been subjected to fraud, deception, and unfair dealing by certain promoters of water treatment devices. Water contamination problems throughout the nation have created concern among homeo…

For the purposes of this article, the following terms have the following meanings: (a) “Contaminant” or “contamination” means any health-related physical, chemical, biological, or radiological substance or matter in water. (b) “Water treatment device” means any product that (1) i…

It is unlawful for any person to do any of the following in connection with the sale, lease, rental, offer to sell, lease, rent, or other disposition of water treatment devices: (a) Make any untrue or misleading oral or written statements regarding the presence of one or more con…

(a) A contract or offer which is subject to approval, for the sale, lease, or rental of a water treatment device shall be deemed a home solicitation contract or offer, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1689.5 of the Civil Code regardless of where the contract or offer was …

Any violation of this article is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, or by a fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), or by both.

(a) No contract or offer for the sale, lease, or rental of a home water treatment device and no purchase money loan, as defined in subdivision (b), shall provide for a lien on real property. Any lien taken in violation of this section is void and unenforceable. (b) For the purpos…

(a) A buyer, lessee, or renter of a water treatment device may bring an action against any person who violates this article for the recovery of actual damages, exemplary damages, reasonable attorney’s fees and costs, and appropriate equitable relief. (b) The rights and remedies p…

(a) A person who represents in advertising or on the label or container of a consumer good that the consumer good that it manufactures or distributes is not harmful to, or is beneficial to, the natural environment, through the use of such terms as “environmental choice,” “ecologi…

(a) It is unlawful for a person to make an untruthful, deceptive, or misleading environmental marketing claim, whether explicit or implied. For the purpose of this section, “environmental marketing claim” shall include any claim contained in the “Guides for the Use of Environment…

Any violation of this article is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed six months, or by a fine not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), or by both.

(a) Any engine coolant or antifreeze sold in this state after January 1, 2004, that is manufactured after July 1, 2003, and that contains more than 10 percent ethylene glycol, shall include denatonium benzoate at a minimum of 30 parts per million as a bittering agent within the p…

(a) There is a compelling state interest to protect the privacy of residential or wireless telephone subscribers who wish to avoid unsolicited and unwanted telephone solicitations. For the purposes of this article, a residential or wireless telephone subscriber shall be referred …

It is unlawful for any person to do any of the following: using the “do not call” list for any purpose other than to comply with this article or applicable federal laws; denying or interfering in any way, directly or indirectly, with a subscriber’s right to place a California tel…

(a) For purposes of this article: (1) A “telephone solicitor” means any person or entity who, on his or her own behalf or through salespersons or agents, announcing devices, or otherwise, makes or causes a telephone call to be made to a California telephone number that does any o…

(a) The Attorney General, a district attorney, or a city attorney may bring a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction against a telephone solicitor to enforce the article and to obtain any one or more of the following remedies: (1) An order to enjoin the violation. (2…

Any information regarding any California telephone number that appears on the “do not call” list in the possession of the Attorney General, whether obtained from the Federal Trade Commission or submitted to the Attorney General by a subscriber for inclusion in the “do not call” l…

It is the intent of the Legislature to end the practice of ongoing charging of consumer credit or debit cards or third party payment accounts without the consumers’ explicit consent for ongoing shipments of a product or ongoing deliveries of service.

(a) For the purposes of this article, the following definitions shall apply: (1) “Automatic renewal” means a plan, arrangement, or provision of a contract that contains a free-to-pay conversion or in which a paid subscription or purchasing agreement is automatically renewed at th…

(a) It is unlawful for any business that makes an automatic renewal offer or continuous service offer to a consumer in this state to do any of the following: (1) Fail to present the automatic renewal offer terms or continuous service offer terms in a clear and conspicuous manner …

In any case in which a business sends any goods, wares, merchandise, or products to a consumer, under a continuous service agreement or automatic renewal of a purchase, without first obtaining the consumer’s affirmative consent as described in Section 17602, the goods, wares, mer…

(a) Notwithstanding Section 17534, a violation of this article shall not be a crime. However, all available civil remedies that apply to a violation of this article may be employed. (b) If a business complies with the provisions of this article in good faith, it shall not be subj…

The following are exempt from the requirements of this article: (a) Any service provided by a business or its affiliate where either the business or its affiliate is doing business pursuant to a franchise issued by a political subdivision of the state or a license, franchise, cer…

This article shall become operative on December 1, 2010.

If the register or book of registration of the Medical Board of California, the Dental Board of California, or the California State Board of Pharmacy is destroyed by fire or other public calamity, the board, whose duty it is to keep the register or book, may reproduce it so that …

(a) There is in the Department of Consumer Affairs the California Board of Accountancy, which consists of 15 members, 7 of whom shall be licensees, and 8 of whom shall be public members who shall not be licentiates of the board or registered by the board. The board has the powers…

Protection of the public shall be the highest priority for the California Board of Accountancy in exercising its licensing, regulatory, and disciplinary functions. Whenever the protection of the public is inconsistent with other interests sought to be promoted, the protection of …

No public member shall be a current or former licensee of the board or an immediate family member of a licensee, or be currently or formerly employed by a public accounting firm, bookkeeping firm, or firm engaged in providing tax preparation as its primary business, or have any f…

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), each member of the board, except the public members, shall be actively engaged in the practice of public accountancy and shall have been so engaged for a period of not less than five years preceding the date of his appointment. Each memb…

Each member shall be appointed for a term of four years and shall hold office until the appointment and qualification of his successor or until one year shall have elapsed since the expiration of the term for which he was appointed, whichever first occurs. Vacancies occurring sha…

The officers of the board are a president, vice president and a secretary-treasurer.

The president, vice president, and secretary-treasurer shall be elected by the board for a term of one year from among its members at the time of the annual meeting. The newly elected president, vice president, and secretary-treasurer shall assume the duties of their respective o…

The officers of the board shall continue in office until their successors are elected and qualify.

The president shall preside at all meetings of the board, and in the event of the president’s absence or inability to act, the vice president shall preside. If both the president and vice president are absent or unable to act, the secretary-treasurer shall preside at meetings of …

The board shall, from time to time, but not less than twice each year, prepare and distribute to all licensees, a report of the activities of the board, including amendments to this chapter and regulations adopted by the board, and may likewise distribute reports of other matters…

The board shall compile and maintain, or may have compiled and maintained on its behalf, a register of licensees that contains information that the board determines is necessary for the purposes for which the board was established. The board shall make the register available to a…

In the interest of protecting the privacy of applicants and licensees, an email address provided by applicants or licensees to the board pursuant to this chapter shall not be considered a public record and shall not be disclosed pursuant to Section 27 or pursuant to a request und…

For the reproduction of the destroyed register or book the board shall make use of such existing official printed registers, books or matter, certificates, affidavits to be presented, or other official information as may be available and which may appear to the board to be authen…

The board may adopt, repeal, or amend such regulations as may be reasonably necessary and expedient for the orderly conduct of its affairs and for the administration of this chapter. The regulations shall be adopted in accordance with Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) o…

The board shall designate the location of its principal office and may establish branch offices in other locations.

The board shall have a seal.

The board shall keep records of all proceedings and actions by and before the board and before its committees. In any proceeding in court, civil or criminal, copies of those records certified as correct by the executive officer of the board under seal of the board shall be admiss…

The board may employ clerks, examiners and, except as provided by Section 159.5, other assistants in the performance of its duties, and pay salaries and necessary expenses.

The board may appoint a person exempt from civil service who shall be designated as an executive officer and who shall exercise the powers and perform the duties delegated by the board and vested in the executive officer by this chapter. This section shall remain in effect only u…

A majority of the board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business at any meeting of the board. Notice of each meeting of the board shall be given in accordance with the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Pa…

All meetings of the board shall be open and public, except that the board may hold executive sessions to deliberate on the decision to be reached upon the evidence introduced in a proceeding conducted in accordance with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500), Part 1, Division …

The board shall post, within 10 days of board approval, the finalized minutes from meetings of the board that are open and public pursuant to Section 5017 on the board’s internet website. The minutes shall remain on the board’s internet website for at least three years. Providing…

(a) The board shall provide a live audio or video broadcast, on its internet website, of each of its board meetings that are open and public. (b) (1) If technical failure prevents the board from providing a live broadcast as specified in subdivision (a), that failure shall not co…

The board may by regulation, prescribe, amend, or repeal rules of professional conduct appropriate to the establishment and maintenance of a high standard of integrity and dignity in the profession. In addition to the requirements contained in Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 1…

Every applicant, when subscribing to an application for certificate or registration, shall acknowledge the fact that the applicant has read and understands the rules of professional conduct adopted by the board.