Legislative Update … and More

By Joel Bock, CPA

As the warm Bakersfield sun starts to warm up these summer months, I hope you are able to find time to vacation in a cooler climate.

I recently attended the CalCPA Annual Members’ Business and Council meetings in San Francisco. In addition to voting on various motions and positions before the Council, California Assembly members Fiona Ma and Mary Hayashi provided a legislative update and AICPA President Barry Melancon presented an accounting industry update. The culminating event of the meetings was a gala celebrating CalCPA’s 100th anniversary.

Some of the pending legislation discussed in the legislative update included:

SB 691: Requires that all candidates entering the profession after Jan. 1, 2014, meet the 150-hour education requirement for licensure. Only two states—California and Colorado—have yet to adopt this requirement. This bill passed a Senate floor vote 35-0 June 3 and was scheduled to go before the Assembly Business and Professions Committee this month.

AB 117: Requires CPAs using the CPA designation to disclose if their license is inactive. This bill passed the Senate Appropriations Committee June 29 and awaits Senate floor vote.

AB 129: Re-enacts the taxpayer privilege to conform to the federal taxpayer bill of rights. This bill passed the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee June 29 and was re-referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

AB 138: Requires mandatory peer review for California CPA firms that provide audit, review or compilation services.

You can find more information on these bills online.

The Young and Emerging Professionals Committee has been quite active recently. Along with planning well-attended social events, committee members are planning a YEP of the Year award. Details will follow in the upcoming months. If you are a YEP and have not yet attended a monthly social event, I suggest you attend the next event. An e-mail notification will be sent with time, date and location. Special thanks to co-chairs Lindsay Golliher and Salvador Saavedra for planning these events!

A reminder: Be sure to circle Monday, Aug. 31, on your calendar for our Annual Golf Tournament at Stockdale Country Club. It will it be a fun day on the golf course—and a great networking opportunity! Also, net proceeds benefit the Bakersfield Chapter Scholarship Fund. Download a registration flier today.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 6th, 2009 at 4:24 pm and is filed under President's Message. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.