BILL NUMBER: SB 1405	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator De León

                        FEBRUARY 24, 2012

   An act to add Section 5135 to the Business and Professions Code,
relating to accountancy.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1405, as introduced, De León. Accountancy: renewal exemption:
military service.
   Existing law provides for the regulation of various professions
and vocations by boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs and
for the licensure of individuals in that regard. Existing law
authorizes any licensee whose license expired while he or she was on
active duty as a member of the California National Guard or the
United States Armed Forces to reinstate his or her license without
examination or penalty if certain requirements are met. Existing law
provides for the licensure and regulation of the practice of
accountancy by the California Board of Accountancy. A permit issued
to a certified public accountant or a public accountant is subject to
a biennial renewal fee.
   This bill would instead provide a specific exemption from the
biennial renewal fee for a certified public accountant or a public
accountant while he or she is engaged in full-time training or active
military service. The bill would prohibit the holder of an exempt
permit from engaging in the practice of public accountancy. The bill
would make the holder of an exempt permit liable for payment of the
biennial renewal fee within a specified period after his or her
discharge from full-time training or active military service.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 5135 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
   5135.  (a) Notwithstanding Section 114 or any other provision of
law, the holder of a permit issued to a certified public accountant
or a public accountant shall be exempt from the biennial renewal fee
described in Section 5134 while the permitholder is engaged in
full-time training or active service in the United States Army, Navy,
Air Force, or Marine Corps.
   (b) The holder of a permit exempt from the biennial renewal fee
pursuant to subdivision (a) shall not engage in the practice of
public accountancy.
   (c) An exempt permitholder shall become liable for payment of the
biennial renewal fee upon his or her discharge from full-time
training or active service and shall have 60 days after his or her
discharge date to pay the biennial renewal fee before the delinquency
fee is required. Any person who is discharged from full-time
training or active service within 60 days of the end of a renewal
period is exempt from the payment of the renewal fee for that period.

   (d) The time spent in full-time training or active service shall
not be included in the computation of the five-year period for
renewal or reinstatement of licensure as provided in Sections 5070.6
and 5070.7.