HB 1099

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

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.