By Byanca Hutchins
On March 12, 2025, the Medical Board of California (MBC or Board) published a notice of proposed rulemaking to modify sections 1352.3 and 1359, Title 16 of the California Code of Regulations (CCR), concerning fees for petitions for penalty relief. According to the Board’s initial statement of reasons, these modifications aim to manage the Board’s time and financial resources by implementing fees for individuals seeking to reinstate their licenses or modify or terminate probation orders early.
The original proposed text, introduced on May 7, 2024, included fees of $1,949 to process a petition for modification or termination of probation, $19,043 to adjudicate a petition for modification or termination of probation once the petition is accepted for hearing, and $3,738 to process a petition for reinstatement of a revoked or surrendered certificate. A public notice for the original proposal was issued on November 8, 2024, providing 45 days for public comment. On November 19, 2024, the Board extended the public comment period to January 6, 2025, due to an inadvertent delay in posting the notice to its website and mailing the documents to interested parties until November 20, 2024.
On January 31, 2025, the Board revised the proposed text following the public comment period. The modified text was published and presented at the Board’s February 13, 2025, meeting. During this meeting, the Board addressed public concerns about the significant upfront fee of $19,043. In response, the modified text proposed an initial fee of $1,242 for petitioners seeking modification or early termination of their probation, to cover Board staff time for reviewing and processing the petition until referral to the Attorney General’s Office (AGO). Petitioners seeking reinstatement would pay an initial fee of $2,962. If the petition proceeds to a hearing, the modified text would allow the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) to determine the remaining costs, up to $22,000, minus the initial fee paid. Additionally, the text would allow the ALJ to consider the petitioner’s ability to pay the remaining fee, including the option for a payment plan, and assess the reasonableness of the fee.
Following the revision, the Board approved the modified text and initiated a new public comment period for written comments between March 13, 2025, and April 1, 2025. The Board will take action on the rulemaking after the conclusion of this comment period.