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House Bill 2144 |
House Author: Flores |
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Effective: 9-1-07 |
Senate Sponsor: Williams |
Previous law allowed an out-of-state certified public accountant (CPA) or public accountant firm without a Texas certificate or license to practice temporarily in Texas if the CPA or CPA firm met certain requirements of the law and the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy. House Bill 2144 amends the Occupations Code to eliminate the system by which an out-of-state CPA or CPA firm was allowed to practice temporarily in Texas and replaces it with a system that allows such a CPA or CPA firm to establish a practice privilege to work in Texas under certain conditions. The bill requires a CPA firm to be licensed in Texas if the firm establishes or maintains an office in Texas or provides financial audit services to an entity that has its principal office in Texas. The bill grants a practice privilege for limited public accounting services to an individual CPA or CPA firm that is a licensee of another state, does not maintain an office in Texas, and meets certain other requirements. House Bill 2144 removes notice requirements to exercise the practice privilege and makes an out-of-state licensee subject to the jurisdiction, disciplinary authority, and rules of the board upon exercise of the practice privilege. The bill revokes a practice privilege if an out-of-state CPA or CPA firm fails to maintain an active license in the home state and requires an out-of-state firm to use the firm name that it uses in its home state.