(

a) The commissioner may, after appropriate notice and opportunity for hearing, suspend for a period not to exceed months or bar a person from any position of employment with a licensee if the commissioner finds that the person has willfully used or claimed without authority a designation or certification of special education, practice, or skill that the person has not attained, or willfully held out to the public a confusingly similar designation or certification for the purpose of misleading the public regarding his or her qualifications or experience. (

b) Within days from the date of a notice of intention to issue an order pursuant to subdivision (a), the person may request a hearing under the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 5 (commencing with

Section 11500) of Part of Division of Title of the Government Code). Upon receiving a request, the matter shall be set for hearing to commence within days after receipt unless the person subject to this division consents to a later date. If no hearing is requested within days after the mailing or service of the notice and none is ordered by the commissioner, the failure to request a hearing shall constitute a waiver of the right to a hearing. (

c) Upon receipt of a notice of intention to issue an order pursuant to subdivision (a), the person who is the subject of the proposed order is immediately prohibited from engaging in any activities subject to licensure under this division. (

d) Persons suspended or barred under this

section are prohibited from participating in any business activity of a licensed finance lender, broker, program administrator, or mortgage loan originator, and from engaging in any business activity on the premises where a licensed finance lender, broker, program administrator, or mortgage loan originator is conducting its business. This subdivision does not prohibit suspended or barred persons from having their personal transactions processed by a licensed finance lender, broker, mortgage loan originator, or program administrator. (

e) This

section shall become operative on January 1, 2019.