(a) The commissioner may deny an application for a license issued pursuant to this chapter, and may suspend or revoke the permanent license of an organization licensed pursuant to this chapter as authorized by Section 1738, if the applicant or holder of the permanent license is an organization and a controlling person of the organization is any of the following:
(1) The controlling person has previously engaged in a fraudulent practice or act or has conducted any business in a dishonest manner.
(2) The controlling person has shown incompetency or untrustworthiness in the conduct of any business, or has by commission of a wrongful act or practice in the course of any business exposed the public or those dealing with the controlling person to the danger of loss.
(3) The controlling person has knowingly misrepresented the terms or effect of an insurance policy or contract.
(4) The controlling person has failed to perform a duty expressly enjoined upon them by a provision of this code or has committed an act expressly forbidden by a provision of this code.
(5) The controlling person has been convicted of any of the following:
(A) A felony.
(B) A misdemeanor specified by this code or other laws regulating insurance.
(C) A public offense having as one of its necessary elements a fraudulent act or an act of dishonesty in acceptance, custody, or payment of money or property.
A judgment, plea, or verdict of guilty, or a plea of nolo contendere is deemed to be a conviction within the meaning of this section.
(6) The controlling person has aided or abetted a person in an act or omission that would constitute grounds for the suspension, revocation, or refusal of a license or certificate issued under this code to the person aided or abetted.
(7) The controlling person has permitted a person in the controlling person’s employ to violate this code.
(8) The controlling person has violated a law relating to conduct of business that could lawfully be done only under authority conferred by a license under this chapter.
(b) As used in this section, “controlling person” means a person who possesses, directly or indirectly, the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of the organization, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract other than a commercial contract for goods or nonmanagement services, or otherwise, including, but not limited to, power that is the result of an official position with or corporate office held by the person. Control shall be presumed to exist if a person, directly or indirectly, owns, controls, holds with the power to vote, or holds proxies representing, more than 10 percent of the voting securities of the organization. This presumption may be rebutted by a showing that control does not exist in fact. The commissioner may, after furnishing all persons in interest notice and opportunity to be heard, determine that control exists in fact, notwithstanding the absence of a presumption to that effect.
(Amended by Stats. 2020, Ch. 184, Sec. 12. (SB 1255) Effective January 1, 2021.)