AB 1175: Accountants.

Official summary

Legislative Counsel’s Digest (official, as of the latest version). Written by nonpartisan legislative staff; reproduced verbatim.

Existing law establishes the California Board of Accountancy in the Department of Consumer Affairs to license and regulate certified public accountants and the practice of public accountancy. Existing law makes it a crime for a person to engage in the practice of public accountancy without a valid permit issued by the board or pursuant to a practice privilege.

Existing law establishes education, experiential, examination, and other qualifications for licensure as a certified public accountant and requires an applicant to provide documentation that the applicant completed specified units in prescribed courses. Existing law requires the board to admit an applicant to the certified public accountant examination before the applicant completes the education requirements if the applicant is enrolled in a degree-granting university, college, or other institution of learning and is within 180 days of completing prescribed education requirements. Existing law requires the board to adopt guidelines for accounting study to be included as part of the educational requirements for licensure.

This bill would, operative on January 1, 2027, enact an alternative set of qualifications and requirements for a license, including a requirement to have completed an accounting concentration of courses from a board-recognized United States institution of higher education, instead of evidence of completion of specified units in prescribed courses for the education qualifications, as described above. The bill would make those revised qualifications and requirements an alternative to the above-described existing law provisions until January 1, 2029, at which time the bill would repeal those existing law provisions.

Existing law authorizes the board to issue a certified public accountant license to an applicant who is the holder of a certified public accountant license issued under the laws of any state if the board determines the standards are substantially equivalent to the standards established in this state.

This bill would instead authorize the board to issue a certified public accountant license to an applicant who holds a license from another state with comparable licensure requirements, as defined.

Existing law authorizes an individual whose principal place of business is not in this state and who has a license to practice public accountancy from another state to practice in this state under a practice privilege without obtaining a license from the board if the individual, among other things, satisfies one of specified requirements, including that the individual has continually practiced public accountancy as a certified public accountant under a licensed issued by another state for at least 4 of the last 10 years.

Sponsors

Sponsors by party (alphabetical): Democratic 1

“Support” is shown only as formal sponsorship recorded by the legislature. Roll-call votes are available on the official bill page.

Recent official actions

1. October 3, 2025Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 293, Statutes of 2025.
2. October 3, 2025Approved by the Governor.
3. September 9, 2025Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m.
4. September 2, 2025In Assembly. Ordered to Engrossing and Enrolling.
5. September 2, 2025Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 40. Noes 0. Page 2394.).
6. August 20, 2025Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
7. August 19, 2025From committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8.
8. July 14, 2025From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (July 14). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
9. June 11, 2025In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.
10. May 14, 2025Referred to Com. on B. P. & E.D.
11. May 6, 2025In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
12. May 5, 2025Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 77. Noes 0. Page 1426.)