BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair

                                          AB 431 (Ma)
          
          Hearing Date: 7/11/2011         Amended: 6/6/2011
          Consultant: Bob Franzoia        Policy Vote: B&P 9-0
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          ____
          BILL SUMMARY: AB 431 would authorize the California Board of 
          Accountancy (board) to establish, by regulation, a system for 
          the placement of a license on a retired status for those 
          accountants who are non-actively engaged in the practice of 
          public accountancy. This bill would require the board to deny an 
          application for a retired status license if the applicant's 
          permit is canceled, suspended, revoked, otherwise restricted, 
          or, commencing on a specified date, delinquent.  This bill would 
          provide for that application fee for a retired status license 
          and for restoration of a retired status license to active status 
          to be fixed by the board in an amount not to exceed $250 and 
          $1,000 respectively. By increasing that part of revenue in the 
          Accountancy Fund that is continuously appropriated, this bill 
          would make an appropriation.
          _________________________________________________________________
          ____
                            Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions         2011-12      2012-13       2013-14     Fund
           Revision of licensing  Likely significant ($50 to up to 
          $300)Special*
          categories and fees    decrease in license fee revenue 
          annuallythrough 2017; fee revenue increase or
                                 decrease may vary at board discretion
          * Accountancy Fund
          _________________________________________________________________
          ____

          STAFF COMMENTS: This bill may meet the criteria for referral to 
          the Suspense File.

          Under current law, licensees who are retiring from the 
          profession must either voluntarily surrender their license or 
          stop paying renewal fees leading to a delinquent status and 
          eventual cancellation of the license. A license status of 
          "delinquent," "cancelled," or "surrendered" has a negative 
          connotation and does not accurately reflect a retired licensee's 








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          status to consumers.

          This bill would allow the board to establish a process for 
          accountants to receive a retired designation while providing 
          consumers with protection by prohibiting licensees facing 
          disciplinary action from receiving a retired designation.  This 
          bill would also require the board to provide licensees, who may 
          later reconsider retirement, a means to restore their license to 
          an active status.
          
          The fiscal impact of changes in licensing status and fees can 
          vary widely.  Under one estimate of the changes proposed by this 
          bill, where there would be an increase in retired status 
          licenses (up to $250 one time) and a related decrease in active 
          status licenses (up to $120 every two years, potentially 
          increasing to up to $200 every two years in a later renewal 
          period), license revenue to the Accountancy Fund may decline by 
          up to $300,000 annually.