BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2560|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2560
Author: Obernolte (R)
Amended: 3/18/16 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE BUS., PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMMITTEE: 8-0, 6/20/16
AYES: Hill, Block, Gaines, Galgiani, Hernandez, Jackson,
Mendoza, Wieckowski
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bates
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/12/16 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Accountants: practice privileges: out-of-state
individuals
SOURCE: California Board of Accountancy
DIGEST: This bill authorizes the California Board of
Accountancy to promulgate emergency regulations if it
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.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
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1) Creates the California Board of Accountancy (CBA), within the
Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA), and provides that
protection of the public shall be the highest priority for
the CBA in exercising its licensing, regulatory, and
disciplinary functions. (Business and Professions Code (BPC)
§§ 5000, 5000.1)
2) Defines "certified public accountant" (CPA) to mean any
person who has received from the CBA a certificate of CPA and
who holds a valid permit to practice under the provisions of
this chapter. (BPC § 5033)
3) Defines "public accountant" (PA) to mean any person who has
registered with the CBA as a PA and who holds a valid permit
for the practice of public accountancy. (BPC § 5034)
4) Authorizes the CBA to revoke, suspend, issue a fine, or
otherwise restrict or discipline the holder of an
authorization to practice for any act that would be a
violation of this code or grounds for discipline against a
licensee or holder of a practice privilege, or grounds for
denial of a licensee or practice privilege under this code.
(BPC § 5050.2)
5) Authorizes an individual whose principal place of business is
not in this state and who has a valid and current license,
certificate, or permit to practice public accountancy from
another state to, subject to the conditions and limitations
in this article, engage in the practice of public accountancy
in this state under a practice privilege without obtaining a
certificate or license under this chapter if the individual
satisfies one of the following: (BPC § 5096)
a) The individual has continually practiced public
accountancy as a CPA under a valid license issued by any
state for at least four of the last 10 years.
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b) The individual has a license, certificate, or permit
from a state which has been determined by the CBA to have
education, examination, and experience qualifications for
licensure substantially equivalent to this state's
qualifications under BPC Section 5093.
c) The individual possesses education, examination, and
experience qualifications for licensure which have been
determined by the CBA to be substantially equivalent to
this state's qualifications under BPC Section 5093.
1) Authorizes the CBA to administratively suspend the right to
public accountancy in California under a practice privilege
without notice or hearing. (BPC § 5096.4)
2) Provides that if the CBA determines that allowing individuals
from a particular state to practice in this state violates
the CBA's duty to protect the public, the CBA shall require,
by regulation, out-of-state individuals licensed from that
state, as a condition to exercising a practice privilege in
this state, to file the notification form and pay the
applicable fees. (BPC § 5096.21)
3) Requires the CBA to consider specified factors when making
the determination that allowing individuals from a particular
state to practice in California, violates the CBA's duty to
protect the public. (BPC § 5096.21)
This bill:
1) Authorizes the CBA to adopt emergency regulations if it makes
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Page 4
a determination, in accordance with the Administrative
Procedure Act, that allowing individuals from a particular
state to practice in California violates the CBA's duty to
protect the public.
2) Provides that the adoption of the regulations shall be deemed
an emergency and necessary for the immediate preservation of
the public peace, health, safety, or general welfare.
Background
CBA. The mission statement of the CBA is to protect consumers
by ensuring only qualified licensees practice public accountancy
in accordance with established professional standards. Created
by statute in 1901, the CBA's legal mandate is to regulate the
accounting profession for the public interest by establishing
and maintaining entry standards of qualification and conduct
within the accounting profession, primarily through its
authority to license. In California, the accounting
profession's licensed practitioners are the CPA and PA. The CBA
currently regulates over 97,000 licensees, the largest group of
licensed accounting professionals in the nation, including
individuals, partnerships, and corporations.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified8/2/16)
California Board of Accountancy (source)
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/2/16)
None received
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ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The California Board of Accountancy
(sponsor) writes that, "This bill proposes amendments to grant
the CBA the legislative authority to adopt emergency regulations
pursuant to BPC § 5096.21(a) to expedite the rulemaking process
related to participation in the no notice, no fee practice
privilege program."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/12/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Calderon,
Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines,
Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson,
Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger
Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder,
Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina,
Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen,
Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,
Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Burke, Jones-Sawyer
Prepared by:Mark Mendoza / B., P. & E.D. / (916) 651-4104
8/3/16 19:11:01
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