BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 2560 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 4, 2016 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Lorena Gonzalez, Chair AB 2560 (Obernolte) - As Amended March 18, 2016 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Business and Professions |Vote:|16 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 Page 2 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 Page 3 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