BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2560
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Date of Hearing: May 4, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
2560 (Obernolte) - As Amended March 18, 2016
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|Policy |Business and Professions |Vote:|16 - 0 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill authorizes the California Board of Accountancy (CBA)
to promulgate emergency regulations if the CBA determines, under
the current Practice Privilege Program, that allowing
individuals from a substantially similar state to practice in
California violates its duty to protect consumers.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Minor and absorbable costs to the CBA.
AB 2560
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COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, "This bill would allow for a
more efficient rulemaking process by authorizing the CBA to
adopt emergency regulations in the event the CBA determines
that allowing individuals from a particular state to practice
in California pursuant to a practice privilege violates the
CBA's duty to protect the public."
2)Background. The licensed accounting professions in California
are the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and the Public
Accountant (PA). The CBA currently regulates over 97,000
licensees, the largest group of licensed accounting
professionals in the nation, including individuals,
partnerships, and corporations.
SB 1405 (De León), Chapter 411, Statutes of 2012, enacted
California's "mobility law," which included the Practice
Privilege Program. It applies only to the accountancy
profession and allows licensees from out-of-state to practice
in California without providing the state with notice or a
fee, as was required by the former practice privilege program.
Current law states that if the CBA determines that allowing
individuals from a particular state to practice in California
under a no notice, no fee practice privilege violates its duty
to protect the public, it shall require, by regulation,
out-of-state individuals licensed from that state, to file the
notification form and pay the fees as required under the prior
AB 2560
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notice and fee practice privilege program. As the normal
rulemaking process takes between 12-18 months to complete, the
California Board of Accountancy asserts that expediting the
process will better protect consumers.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)
319-2081