(a) Effective July 1, 2011, regional centers shall begin transitioning all vendors of all regional center services to electronic billing for services purchased through a regional center. All vendors and contracted providers shall submit all billings electronically for services provided on or after July 1, 2012, with the exception of the following:
(1) A vendor or provider whose services are paid for by vouchers, as that term is defined in subdivision (i) of Section 4512.
(2) A vendor or provider who demonstrates that submitting billings electronically for services presents a substantial financial hardship for the provider.
(b) For purposes of this section, “electronic billing” is defined as the Regional Center e-Billing System Web application provided by the department.