Florida Senate - 2009 CS for SB 1640
By the Committee on Regulated Industries; and Senator Jones
580-02947-09 20091640c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to public accountancy; amending s.
3 455.217, F.S.; providing that persons regulated as
4 public accountants by the Department of Business and
5 Professional Regulation under ch. 473, F.S., are
6 exempt from the requirement that applicants for
7 licensure in other regulated professions must pass an
8 examination pertaining to state laws and rules for
9 that profession regulated by the department; amending
10 s. 455.271, F.S.; providing that certain licensees are
11 not subject to specified continuing education
12 requirements for reactivation of a license; amending
13 s. 473.303, F.S.; specifying that members of the Board
14 of Accountancy and probable cause panels who hold
15 licenses must be licensed in this state; amending s.
16 473.305, F.S.; deleting provisions requiring a late
17 filing fee; amending s. 473.308, F.S.; revising
18 educational requirements for applicants for licensure;
19 providing an exception to a work experience
20 requirement for certain persons; amending s. 473.311,
21 F.S.; deleting an examination requirement for
22 licensure renewal; amending s. 473.313, F.S.; deleting
23 a minimum continuing education requirement for
24 reactivating an inactive license; requiring certain
25 continuing education hours in ethics in order to
26 reactivate certain licenses; conforming provisions;
27 providing an effective date.
28
29 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
30
31 Section 1. Subsection (7) of section 455.217, Florida
32 Statutes, is amended to read:
33 455.217 Examinations.—This section shall be read in
34 conjunction with the appropriate practice act associated with
35 each regulated profession under this chapter.
36 (7) In addition to meeting any other requirements for
37 licensure by examination or by endorsement, an applicant may be
38 required by a board, or by the department, if there is no board,
39 to pass an examination pertaining to state laws and rules
40 applicable to the practice of the profession regulated by that
41 board or by the department. This subsection does not apply to
42 persons regulated under chapter 473.
43 Section 2. Subsection (10) of section 455.271, Florida
44 Statutes, is amended to read:
45 455.271 Inactive and delinquent status.—
46 (10) Before reactivation, an inactive or delinquent
47 licensee shall meet the same continuing education requirements,
48 if any, imposed on an active status licensee for all biennial
49 licensure periods in which the licensee was inactive or
50 delinquent. This subsection does not apply to persons regulated
51 under chapter 473.
52 Section 3. Section 473.303, Florida Statutes, is amended to
53 read:
54 473.303 Board of Accountancy.—
55 (1) There is created in the department the Board of
56 Accountancy. The board shall consist of nine members, seven of
57 whom must be certified public accountants licensed in this state
58 and two of whom must be laypersons who are not and have never
59 been certified public accountants or members of any closely
60 related profession or occupation. The members who are certified
61 public accountants must have practiced public accounting on a
62 substantially full-time basis in this state for at least 5
63 years. At least one member of the board must be 60 years of age
64 or older. Each member shall be appointed by the Governor,
65 subject to confirmation by the Senate.
66 (2) The probable cause panel of the board may be composed
67 of at least one current board member who shall serve as chair
68 and additional current board members or past board members of
69 the board who are certified public accountants licensed in this
70 state and licensees in good standing. The past board members
71 shall be appointed to the panel for a term maximum of 2 years by
72 the chair of the board with the approval of the secretary of the
73 department, and may be reappointed for additional terms.
74 Section 4. Section 473.305, Florida Statutes, is amended to
75 read:
76 473.305 Fees.—The board, by rule, may establish fees to be
77 paid for applications, examination, reexamination, licensing and
78 renewal, reinstatement, and recordmaking and recordkeeping. The
79 fee for the examination shall be established at an amount that
80 covers the costs for the procurement or development,
81 administration, grading, and review of the examination. The fee
82 for the examination is refundable if the applicant is found to
83 be ineligible to sit for the examination. The fee for initial
84 application is nonrefundable, and the combined fees for
85 application and examination may not exceed $250 plus the actual
86 per applicant cost to the department for purchase of the
87 examination from the American Institute of Certified Public
88 Accountants or a similar national organization. The biennial
89 renewal fee may not exceed $250. The board may also establish,
90 by rule, a reactivation fee, a late filing fee for the law and
91 rules examination, and a delinquency fee not to exceed $50 for
92 continuing professional education reporting forms. The board
93 shall establish fees which are adequate to ensure the continued
94 operation of the board and to fund the proportionate expenses
95 incurred by the department which are allocated to the regulation
96 of public accountants. Fees shall be based on department
97 estimates of the revenue required to implement this chapter and
98 the provisions of law with respect to the regulation of
99 certified public accountants.
100 Section 5. Subsections (3) and (4) of section 473.308,
101 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
102 473.308 Licensure.—
103 (3) An applicant for licensure must have at least 150
104 semester hours of college education, including a baccalaureate
105 or higher degree conferred by an accredited college or
106 university received a baccalaureate degree with a major in
107 accounting or its equivalent plus at least 30 semester hours or
108 45 quarter hours in excess of those required for a 4-year
109 baccalaureate degree, with a concentration in accounting and
110 business in the total educational program to the extent
111 specified by the board.
112 (4)(a) An applicant for licensure after December 31, 2008,
113 must show that he or she has had 1 year of work experience. This
114 experience shall include providing any type of service or advice
115 involving the use of accounting, attest, compilation, management
116 advisory, financial advisory, tax, or consulting skills, all of
117 which must be verified by a certified public accountant who is
118 licensed by a state or territory of the United States and who
119 has supervised the applicant. This experience is acceptable if
120 it was gained through employment in government, industry,
121 academia, or public practice; constituted a substantial part of
122 the applicant’s duties; and was under the supervision of a
123 certified public accountant licensed by a state or territory of
124 the United States. The board shall adopt rules specifying
125 standards and providing for the review and approval of the work
126 experience required by this section.
127 (b) However, an applicant who completed the requirements of
128 subsection (3) on or before December 31, 2008, and who passes
129 the licensure examination on or before June 30, 2010, is exempt
130 from the requirements of this subsection.
131 Section 6. Section 473.311, Florida Statutes, is amended to
132 read:
133 473.311 Renewal of license.—
134 (1) The department shall renew a license upon receipt of
135 the renewal application and fee and upon certification by the
136 board that the licensee has satisfactorily completed the
137 continuing education requirements of s. 473.312 and has passed
138 an examination approved by the board on chapter 455 and this
139 chapter and the related administrative rules. However, each
140 licensee must complete the requirements of s. 473.312(1)(c)
141 prior to taking the examination.
142 (2) The department shall adopt rules establishing a
143 procedure for the biennial renewal of licenses.
144 Section 7. Section 473.313, Florida Statutes, is amended to
145 read:
146 473.313 Inactive status.—
147 (1) A licensee may request that her or his license be
148 placed in an inactive status by making application to the
149 department. The board may prescribe by rule fees for placing a
150 license on inactive status, renewal of inactive status, and
151 reactivation of an inactive license.
152 (2) A license that has become inactive may be reactivated
153 under s. 473.311 upon application to the department. The board
154 may prescribe by rule continuing education requirements as a
155 condition of reactivating a license. The minimum continuing
156 education requirements for reactivating a license shall be those
157 prescribed by board rule and those of the most recent biennium
158 plus one-half of the requirements in s. 473.312 for each year or
159 part thereof during which the license was inactive.
160 Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the
161 continuing education requirements are 120 hours, including at
162 least 30 hours in accounting-related and auditing-related
163 subjects, and not more than 30 hours in behavioral subjects, and
164 a minimum of 8 hours in ethics subjects approved by the board,
165 for the reactivation of a license that is inactive on June 30,
166 2009 1998, if the licensee notifies the Board of Accountancy by
167 December 31, 2009 1998, of an intention to reactivate such a
168 license and completes such reactivation by June 30, 2011 2000.
169 (3) Any licensee holding an inactive license may be
170 permitted to reactivate such license in a conditional manner.
171 The conditions of reactivation shall require, in addition to the
172 payment of fees, the passing of the examination approved by the
173 board concerning chapter 455 and this chapter, and the related
174 administrative rules, and the completion of required continuing
175 education.
176 (4) Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 455.271, the board
177 may, at its discretion, reinstate the license of an individual
178 whose license has become null and void if the individual has
179 made a good faith effort to comply with this section but has
180 failed to comply because of illness or unusual hardship. The
181 individual shall apply to the board for reinstatement in a
182 manner prescribed by rules of the board and shall pay an
183 application fee in an amount determined by rule of the board.
184 The board shall require that the such an individual meet all
185 continuing education requirements as provided in subsection (2)
186 s. 473.312, pay appropriate licensing fees, and otherwise be
187 eligible for renewal of licensure under this chapter.
188 Section 8. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.