Senate Higher Ed. Committee Moves Mobility Bill to Full Senate

Mobility bill, S2628, was voted unanimously out of the New York State Senate’s Higher Education Committee on Tuesday and will now go before the full Senate for a vote.

The bipartisan bill, sponsored by Sens. Kenneth P. LaValle (R-Suffolk), Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Queens) and John A. DeFrancisco (R-Syracuse), would, if signed into law, allow for cross-border practice mobility for out-of-state CPAs -- as long as the CPA's home state is deemed by New York to have licensing requirements that are substantially equivalent to those outlined in the Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA).

Under substantial equivalency, if a CPA has a license in good standing from a state that utilizes CPA licensure/certification criteria outlined in the UAA -- 150 hours of education, a passing grade on the CPA exam and at least one year of experience -- then that CPA would be qualified to practice in any state that has adopted UAA Section 23 mobility.

The bill would authorize the New York State Board of Regents to determine whether a state's CPA licensure requirements are substantially equivalent to New York's. Any CPA who comes into New York under the proposed mobility practice privilege would fall under the jurisdiction of the state -- even if the cross-border practice consisted of an e-mail.

Last year, the NYSSCPA's Board of Directors unanimously adopted a resolution in support of cross-border mobility legislation in New York and strongly supports the Senate bill. In the interest of public protection, the bill would require some level of notice from out-of-state CPAs who, within the last seven years, have --

• been the subject of a final disciplinary action taken by any jurisdiction's licensing or disciplinary authority against any professional license, or who had charges of professional misconduct pending against them in any jurisdiction;
• had a CPA license in another jurisdiction reinstated after a suspension or revocation;
• been denied a license in any jurisdiction for any reason other than "inadvertent administrative error"; or 
• been convicted of a crime or is subject to pending criminal charges in any jurisdiction.

Some states have included quid pro quo rules in their mobility bills which prohibit cross-border practice by CPAs licensed in states that have not yet adopted UAA Section 23. The mobility legislation would also free New York CPAs from being subjected to them.

This bill is identical to a bill the state Senate unanimously passed during last year's legislative session in June.