The Director must not issue or renew an identification card to any driver or applicant:
(a) who, within five years before the application is submitted, was convicted of, pled guilty or no contest to, or was placed on probation without a finding of guilt for, or who when the application is submitted, has a charge pending for, or who has, within three years before the application was submitted, completed a sentence or period of probation based on a charge for:
(1) any offense involving violence or a weapon;
(2) any sex offense;
(3) soliciting for prostitution;
(4) illegal sale or use of alcoholic beverages;
(5) any felony involving controlled dangerous substances;
(6) any offense involving driving under the influence; or
(7) any act of moral turpitude;
(b) who has a pattern of reasonably verifiable complaints of substandard customer service during the previous 24 months;
(c) whose driving record during the 3 years immediately before the application was submitted, demonstrates that the applicant is not a responsible, safe, or careful driver because the applicant has received more than 4 points under applicable criteria defined by the state Motor Vehicle Administration or the equivalent in another jurisdiction, or by other reasonably verifiable evidence of unsafe or dangerous driving;
(d) who makes a false statement or gives a false answer to obtain, or who obtains, an identification card by fraud, misrepresentation, misleading statements, evasion, or suppression of material fact;
(e) who is unable to safely operate a taxicab, or who may otherwise endanger the public health, safety, or welfare, or who would be unable to fulfill the duties of a driver as required by applicable regulation;
(f) who has substantial delinquent debts to the County, State, or Federal government; or
(g) whose record of violations of this Chapter or other laws or regulations of the County, State, or any other jurisdiction indicates to the Director that to protect public safety an identification card should not be issued.
If an identification card is denied or revoked, the applicant is not eligible to reapply for 1 year, unless the Director for good cause otherwise orders. (2004 L.M.C., ch. 27, § 1; 2006 L.M.C., ch. 32, § 1; 2015 L.M.C., ch. 39, § 1.)
Editor’s note—Former Section 53-308, Examination of applicant, established by 2004 L.M.C., ch. 27, § 1, was deleted effective October 1, 2015 by 2015 L.M.C., ch. 39, §§ 1 and 5. Former Sections 53-309 through 53-325 were renumbered as Sections 53-308 through 53-324 by 2015 L.M.C., ch. 39, § 1.
2015 L.M.C., ch. 39, § 5, states: Transition. Notwithstanding the Expedited Effective Date of this Act, the following provisions, amended in Section 1, take effect on October 1, 2015:
(a) the maximum credit card processing charge under Section 53-218(f)(1);
(b) the dispute resolution requirements under Section 53-219;
(c) the deletion of the driver examination requirement under former Section 53-308 (deleted as of October 1, 2015); and
(d) the minimum liability insurance requirements under Section 53-224.
2006 L.M.C., ch. 32, § 2, states: Transitional provisions; alternative criminal background check.
(a) Until September 1, 2007, notwithstanding the provisions of Section 53-306(c)(2)(D) and Section 53-306(c)(3) to the contrary, the Director may issue a temporary identification card to an applicant for a taxicab driver identification card, before the Department receives the results of the state criminal background check required by Section 53-306, if:
(1) the applicant submitted all information necessary to process the state criminal background check required by Section 53-306 at least 10 days previously and the Department has not received the results of that background check;
(2) the applicant submits an initial criminal history background check, conducted within the previous 10 days by a third-party vendor approved by the Director;
(3) this third-party background check covers each jurisdiction in the United States where the applicant resided during the previous 5 years; and
(4) this third-party background check does not disclose any information that would disqualify the applicant from receiving an identification card under Section 53-309 (now Section 53-308).
(b) For any new passenger vehicle license issued in 2006 under County Code Section 53-205(d), as amended by Section 1 of this Act, the licensee must place the vehicle in taxi service not later than March 31, 2007.