Mobility Bill Moves to Senate Floor

A state Senate bill that would allow for CPA cross-border practice mobility in New York and is based on the model legislation, Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA) Section 23, moved out of a Senate committee May 24 and is on the Senate floor for a third reading.

The mobility bill, S6307-B, sponsored by Higher Education Committee Chair Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Queens), has not yet been called up for a debate and vote.

The NYSSCPA Board of Directors voted unanimously on Jan. 25 to support UAA Section 23, which would, if signed into law, allow out-of-state licensed CPAs to provide attest services in New York without having to notify the state or pay a fee as long as their home state is deemed to have licensing requirements “substantially equivalent” to those outlined in the UAA.

Although Stavisky’s bill would remove the notification requirement from the state’s law books and with it the requirement for a temporary practice permit for those out-of-state CPAs providing attest services in New York, it would also, in the interest of public protection, require some level of notice from CPAs who, within the last seven years, have—
• been the subject of final disciplinary action taken by any jurisdiction's licensing or disciplinary authority against any professional license or has charges of professional misconduct charges pending against him or her 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.

Under the UAA—model legislation drafted by the AICPA and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy that has been adopted in more than 45 states—out-of-state CPAs who have their principal place of business in another, substantially equivalent state can engage in cross-border practice without having to meet additional licensing or permit requirements, although UAA Section 23 would require any out-of-state CPA who performs audits or other specified attest engagements for an entity with a home office located in New York state, to do so only through a CPA firm registered in New York state.

At its April meeting, the New York State Board for Public Accountancy voted to support the concepts contained in UAA Section 23, on substantial equivalency, and by the same vote, took no objection to S6307-B.

The Society will continue to monitor the Senate’s active list calendar.