(a) In any order issued in resolution of a disciplinary proceeding before the board, the board may request the administrative law judge to direct any licensee found guilty of unprofessional conduct to pay to the board a sum not to exceed the actual and reasonable costs of the investigation and prosecution of the case.
(b) The costs to be assessed shall be fixed by the administrative law judge and shall not in any event be increased by the board. When the board does not adopt a proposed decision and remands the case to an administrative law judge, the administrative law judge shall not increase the amount of the assessed costs specified in the proposed decision.
(c) When the payment directed in an order for payment of costs is not made by the licensee, the board may enforce the order of payment by bringing an action in any appropriate court. This right of enforcement shall be in addition to any other rights the board may have as to any licensee directed to pay costs.
(d) In any judicial action for the recovery of costs, proof of the board’s decision shall be conclusive proof of the validity of the order of payment and the terms for payment.
(e) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the board shall not renew or reinstate the license or approval of any person who has failed to pay all of the costs ordered under this section.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the board may, in its discretion, conditionally renew or reinstate for a maximum of one year the license or approval of any person who demonstrates financial hardship and who enters into a formal agreement with the board to reimburse the board within that one year period for those unpaid costs.
(f) All costs recovered under this section shall be deposited in the Physical Therapy Fund as a reimbursement in either the fiscal year in which the costs are actually recovered or the previous fiscal year, as the board may direct.
(Amended by Stats. 1996, Ch. 829, Sec. 51. Effective January 1, 1997.)