| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to public accountancy; amending s. |
| 3 | 455.217, F.S.; removing the authority of the Board of |
| 4 | Accountancy or the Department of Business and Professional |
| 5 | Regulation to require that applicants for licensure as |
| 6 | certified public accountants pass an examination |
| 7 | pertaining to state laws and rules; amending s. 455.271, |
| 8 | F.S.; providing that certified public accountant licensees |
| 9 | are not subject to specified continuing education |
| 10 | requirements for reactivation of a license; amending s. |
| 11 | 473.303, F.S.; specifying that members of the Board of |
| 12 | Accountancy and probable cause panels who hold licenses |
| 13 | must be licensed in this state; amending s. 473.305, F.S.; |
| 14 | deleting provisions requiring a late filing fee; amending |
| 15 | s. 473.308, F.S.; revising educational requirements for |
| 16 | applicants for licensure; providing an exception to a work |
| 17 | experience requirement for certain persons; amending s. |
| 18 | 473.311, F.S.; deleting an examination requirement for |
| 19 | license renewal; amending s. 473.313, F.S.; deleting a |
| 20 | minimum continuing education requirement for reactivating |
| 21 | an inactive license; requiring certain continuing |
| 22 | education hours in ethics in order to reactivate certain |
| 23 | licenses; conforming provisions; providing an effective |
| 24 | date. |
| 25 |
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| 26 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 27 |
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| 28 | Section 1. Subsection (7) of section 455.217, Florida |
| 29 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 30 | 455.217 Examinations.--This section shall be read in |
| 31 | conjunction with the appropriate practice act associated with |
| 32 | each regulated profession under this chapter. |
| 33 | (7) In addition to meeting any other requirements for |
| 34 | licensure by examination or by endorsement, an applicant may be |
| 35 | required by a board, or by the department, if there is no board, |
| 36 | to pass an examination pertaining to state laws and rules |
| 37 | applicable to the practice of the profession regulated by that |
| 38 | board or by the department. This subsection does not apply to |
| 39 | persons regulated under chapter 473. |
| 40 | Section 2. Subsection (10) of section 455.271, Florida |
| 41 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 42 | 455.271 Inactive and delinquent status.-- |
| 43 | (10) Before reactivation, an inactive or delinquent |
| 44 | licensee shall meet the same continuing education requirements, |
| 45 | if any, imposed on an active status licensee for all biennial |
| 46 | licensure periods in which the licensee was inactive or |
| 47 | delinquent. This subsection does not apply to persons regulated |
| 48 | under chapter 473. |
| 49 | Section 3. Section 473.303, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 50 | to read: |
| 51 | 473.303 Board of Accountancy.-- |
| 52 | (1) There is created in the department the Board of |
| 53 | Accountancy. The board shall consist of nine members, seven of |
| 54 | whom must be certified public accountants licensed in this state |
| 55 | and two of whom must be laypersons who are not and have never |
| 56 | been certified public accountants or members of any closely |
| 57 | related profession or occupation. The members who are certified |
| 58 | public accountants must have practiced public accounting on a |
| 59 | substantially full-time basis in this state for at least 5 |
| 60 | years. At least one member of the board must be 60 years of age |
| 61 | or older. Each member shall be appointed by the Governor, |
| 62 | subject to confirmation by the Senate. |
| 63 | (2) The probable cause panel of the board may be composed |
| 64 | of at least one current board member who shall serve as chair |
| 65 | and additional current board members or past board members of |
| 66 | the board who are certified public accountants licensed in this |
| 67 | state and licensees in good standing. The past board members |
| 68 | shall be appointed to the panel for a term maximum of 2 years by |
| 69 | the chair of the board with the approval of the secretary of the |
| 70 | department, and may be reappointed for additional terms. |
| 71 | Section 4. Section 473.305, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 72 | to read: |
| 73 | 473.305 Fees.--The board, by rule, may establish fees to |
| 74 | be paid for applications, examination, reexamination, licensing |
| 75 | and renewal, reinstatement, and recordmaking and recordkeeping. |
| 76 | The fee for the examination shall be established at an amount |
| 77 | that covers the costs for the procurement or development, |
| 78 | administration, grading, and review of the examination. The fee |
| 79 | for the examination is refundable if the applicant is found to |
| 80 | be ineligible to sit for the examination. The fee for initial |
| 81 | application is nonrefundable, and the combined fees for |
| 82 | application and examination may not exceed $250 plus the actual |
| 83 | per applicant cost to the department for purchase of the |
| 84 | examination from the American Institute of Certified Public |
| 85 | Accountants or a similar national organization. The biennial |
| 86 | renewal fee may not exceed $250. The board may also establish, |
| 87 | by rule, a reactivation fee, a late filing fee for the law and |
| 88 | rules examination, and a delinquency fee not to exceed $50 for |
| 89 | continuing professional education reporting forms. The board |
| 90 | shall establish fees which are adequate to ensure the continued |
| 91 | operation of the board and to fund the proportionate expenses |
| 92 | incurred by the department which are allocated to the regulation |
| 93 | of public accountants. Fees shall be based on department |
| 94 | estimates of the revenue required to implement this chapter and |
| 95 | the provisions of law with respect to the regulation of |
| 96 | certified public accountants. |
| 97 | Section 5. Subsections (3) and (4) of section 473.308, |
| 98 | Florida Statutes, are amended to read: |
| 99 | 473.308 Licensure.-- |
| 100 | (3) An applicant for licensure must have at least 150 |
| 101 | semester hours of college education, including a baccalaureate |
| 102 | or higher degree conferred by an accredited college or |
| 103 | university received a baccalaureate degree with a major in |
| 104 | accounting or its equivalent plus at least 30 semester hours or |
| 105 | 45 quarter hours in excess of those required for a 4-year |
| 106 | baccalaureate degree, with a concentration in accounting and |
| 107 | business in the total educational program to the extent |
| 108 | specified by the board. |
| 109 | (4)(a) An applicant for licensure after December 31, 2008, |
| 110 | must show that he or she has had 1 year of work experience. This |
| 111 | experience shall include providing any type of service or advice |
| 112 | involving the use of accounting, attest, compilation, management |
| 113 | advisory, financial advisory, tax, or consulting skills, all of |
| 114 | which must be verified by a certified public accountant who is |
| 115 | licensed by a state or territory of the United States and who |
| 116 | has supervised the applicant. This experience is acceptable if |
| 117 | it was gained through employment in government, industry, |
| 118 | academia, or public practice; constituted a substantial part of |
| 119 | the applicant's duties; and was under the supervision of a |
| 120 | certified public accountant licensed by a state or territory of |
| 121 | the United States. The board shall adopt rules specifying |
| 122 | standards and providing for the review and approval of the work |
| 123 | experience required by this section. |
| 124 | (b) However, an applicant who completed the requirements |
| 125 | of subsection (3) on or before December 31, 2008, and who passes |
| 126 | the licensure examination on or before June 30, 2010, is exempt |
| 127 | from the requirements of this subsection. |
| 128 | Section 6. Section 473.311, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 129 | to read: |
| 130 | 473.311 Renewal of license.-- |
| 131 | (1) The department shall renew a license upon receipt of |
| 132 | the renewal application and fee and upon certification by the |
| 133 | board that the licensee has satisfactorily completed the |
| 134 | continuing education requirements of s. 473.312 and has passed |
| 135 | an examination approved by the board on chapter 455 and this |
| 136 | chapter and the related administrative rules. However, each |
| 137 | licensee must complete the requirements of s. 473.312(1)(c) |
| 138 | prior to taking the examination. |
| 139 | (2) The department shall adopt rules establishing a |
| 140 | procedure for the biennial renewal of licenses. |
| 141 | Section 7. Section 473.313, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 142 | to read: |
| 143 | 473.313 Inactive status.-- |
| 144 | (1) A licensee may request that her or his license be |
| 145 | placed in an inactive status by making application to the |
| 146 | department. The board may prescribe by rule fees for placing a |
| 147 | license on inactive status, renewal of inactive status, and |
| 148 | reactivation of an inactive license. |
| 149 | (2) A license that has become inactive may be reactivated |
| 150 | under s. 473.311 upon application to the department. The board |
| 151 | may prescribe by rule continuing education requirements as a |
| 152 | condition of reactivating a license. The minimum continuing |
| 153 | education requirements for reactivating a license shall be those |
| 154 | prescribed by board rule and those of the most recent biennium |
| 155 | plus one-half of the requirements in s. 473.312 for each year or |
| 156 | part thereof during which the license was inactive. |
| 157 | Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the |
| 158 | continuing education requirements are 120 hours, including at |
| 159 | least 30 hours in accounting-related and auditing-related |
| 160 | subjects, and not more than 30 hours in behavioral subjects, and |
| 161 | a minimum of 8 hours in ethics subjects approved by the board, |
| 162 | for the reactivation of a license that is inactive on June 30, |
| 163 | 2009 1998, if the licensee notifies the Board of Accountancy by |
| 164 | December 31, 2009 1998, of an intention to reactivate such a |
| 165 | license and completes such reactivation by June 30, 2011 2000. |
| 166 | (3) Any licensee holding an inactive license may be |
| 167 | permitted to reactivate such license in a conditional manner. |
| 168 | The conditions of reactivation shall require, in addition to the |
| 169 | payment of fees, the passing of the examination approved by the |
| 170 | board concerning chapter 455 and this chapter, and the related |
| 171 | administrative rules, and the completion of required continuing |
| 172 | education. |
| 173 | (4) Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 455.271, the |
| 174 | board may, at its discretion, reinstate the license of an |
| 175 | individual whose license has become null and void if the |
| 176 | individual has made a good faith effort to comply with this |
| 177 | section but has failed to comply because of illness or unusual |
| 178 | hardship. The individual shall apply to the board for |
| 179 | reinstatement in a manner prescribed by rules of the board and |
| 180 | shall pay an application fee in an amount determined by rule of |
| 181 | the board. The board shall require that the such an individual |
| 182 | meet all continuing education requirements as provided in |
| 183 | subsection (2) s. 473.312, pay appropriate licensing fees, and |
| 184 | otherwise be eligible for renewal of licensure under this |
| 185 | chapter. |
| 186 | Section 8. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009. |