BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1490
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Date of Hearing: June 29, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION
Mary Hayashi, Chair
SB 1490 (Business, Professions and Economic Development) - As
Amended: April 12, 2010
SENATE VOTE : 30-0
SUBJECT : Professions and vocations.
SUMMARY : Extends the operative date of the provisions of law
authorizing a certified public accounting firm (CPA firm) to
practice in California through a practice privilege indefinitely
and extends the deadline for the California Board of Accountancy
(CBA) to hold a hearing following the issuance of a report by
the California Research Bureau (CRB), as specified.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Deletes the sunset date on the provisions of law authorizing a
CPA firm to practice in California through a practice
privilege and provides that the sunset date removal shall not
be deemed to extend the continuation of the 120-hour pathway
to licensure as a certified public accountant (CPA).
2)Requires the CBA to hold a hearing no later than six months
after the CRB issues a report on the Uniform Accountancy Act's
150-hour rule, instead of by September 1, 2010.
3)Makes technical and conforming changes.
4)Contains an urgency clause.
EXISTING LAW
1)Provides for the licensure and regulation of accountants by
the CBA.
2)Authorizes a CPA firm that is authorized to practice in
another state and without a California office to practice
public accountancy in California through the holder of a
practice privilege, as specified.
3)Authorizes CBA to discipline a CPA firm for any act that would
SB 1490
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be grounds for discipline against a holder of a practice
privilege.
4)Requires the CBA to hold a hearing no later than September 1,
2010, after CRB issues a report regarding the Uniform
Accountancy Act's 150-hour rule.
5)Sunsets these provisions on January 1, 2011.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Purpose of this bill . According to the author's office, "Last
year, SB 819 (Yee), Chapter 308, Statutes of 2009, deleted the
sunset dates on the practice privilege laws under which a CPA
licensed in another state may legally practice in California,
thereby indefinitely extending those laws. The bill further
provided that certain provisions relating to sunsetting the
120-hour pathway for CPAs would be invalidated if the practice
privilege requirements were amended before 2014.
"However, the bill inadvertently failed to delete the sunset
date on the practice privilege for CPA firms licensed in another
state, and [CBA's] authority to discipline those firms. This
bill conforms with SB 819 by removing the sunset date on BPC
Section 5096.12, and clarifies that the amendment shall not be
deemed an amendment that would invalidate the 120-hour Pathway
sunset in 2014.
"SB 819 also required the CBA to hold a hearing on the CRB
report by September 1, 2010. In order to meet these
requirements, the CBA anticipates it would need at least two
additional meetings. However the CRB has been unable to issue
the report as originally anticipated due to a backlog of
priorities. Therefore, it is important to amend the law to
instead require the CBA to hold the hearing within six months
after the report is issued."
Previous legislation . SB 819 (Yee), Chapter 308, Statutes of
2009, made the following changes related to the CBA: 1)
Sunsetted the 120-hour pathway to licensure on January 1, 2014,
except as specified, and requires, on and after that date, the
150-hour pathway to include 10 units of ethics study, as
defined, and 20 units of accounting study, as defined; 2)
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Created the Advisory Committee on Accounting Ethics (Committee)
within the CBA and required the Committee to recommend
guidelines for the ethics study requirement to the CBA; 3)
Required the CBA to adopt those recommendations by January 31,
2013, and to adopt guidelines for the accounting study
requirement by January 1, 2012, as specified; and, 4) Required
the CBA, by September 1, 2010, to hold a hearing on a specified
report by the CRB and, at the hearing, to make recommendations
on ensuring the relevancy of accountancy education to the modern
practice of accounting, as specified.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Rebecca May / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301