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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          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