One of Simas & Associates, Ltd.'s main areas of practice involves representing clients with health care or professional licenses who are under investigation. In June 2017, Simas & Associates achieved a personal record in closing seven different investigations within a week's period. As described below, the majority of these cases Read more…
The key to writing effective public comments is understanding how rulemaking decisions are made. Unlike members of the legislature or a vote for the President or Governor, agency rulemakers are not allowed to decide based on a majority vote. Rather, they are supposed to study the problem, collect information, and Read more…
On July 6, 2017, Simas & Associates, Ltd. will sponsor the "Concert in the Park," hosted by the City of Paso Robles. The main act will be the world guitar band, Incendio (@IncendioBand). Incendio is Jim Stubblefield (guitar), Jean-Pierre Durand (guitar, guitar synth), Liza Carbe (bass, guitar), Tim Curle (drums), and Read more…
On June 29, 2017, Justin D. Hein of Simas & Associates, Ltd. and Hon. Erin Koch-Goodman of the Office of Administrative Hearings will be presenting an Introduction to Administrative Law to the Barristers Club of Sacramento. The presentation will provide some basics of administrative regulatory practice and administrative hearing Read more…
Since the 2005 Granholm v. Heald Supreme Court decision addressing the interstate direct shipment of wine, the number of states allowing out-of-state wineries to ship directly to consumers has increased from 31 states to 42. The experience for licensed wine retailers (for example: brick and mortar wine shops, California Type 85 or 20 licensees Read more…
Many local governments and state agencies in California are happy to assist citizens in their requests for public records, and answer questions about the process. But that doesn’t mean it’s always easy, and sometimes you face agencies, municipalities,or individual government employees who don’t know the law about open records, are lazy or lackadaisical Read more…
A couple years ago, we published blog post entitled, “Veterinary Medical Board Taboo: ‘Veterinary Technician.’” (https://simasgovlaw.com/media/blog/veterinary_technician/) In that, we discussed Business and Professions Code section 4893.5 which states: No person shall use the title “registered veterinary technician” or “veterinary technician,” or any other words, letters, or symbols, including, but not Read more…
As discussed in several of our previous blog posts, having a criminal conviction on your record can negatively impact your application for a professional license. Sometimes, the convictions are erroneous and can be corrected by contacting the Department of Justice or through petitioning for factual innocense. However, in the event the criminal Read more…
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is one of three agencies that will be overseeing California's regulation of medical marijuana and cannabis. CDFA's responsibility is to create the "Medical Cannabis Cultivation Program" (Program) for implementing the commercial medical cultivation regulations and develop and manage a cannabis track-and-trace system. To Read more…
The Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation (BMC), Department of Public Health (CDPH), Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) are all creating new regulations to clarify and define existing law regarding the use of cannabis and medical cannabis in the state of California. For your information, oversight of cannabis has been split Read more…