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House Bill 2447 |
House Author: Flynn et al. |
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Effective: See below |
Senate Sponsor: Estes |
House Bill 2447 amends the Occupations Code to abolish the Board of Tax Professional Examiners and transfer its functions to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, where those responsibilities are divided among the department, its executive director, and the Texas Tax Professional Advisory Committee, which is created by the bill. The bill sets forth provisions regarding the committee's membership and requires the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation, as soon as possible after the bill's effective date, to appoint committee members and set their terms. The bill requires the commission, with the advice of the committee, to establish fees to cover the department's costs of administering programs and activities relating to the regulation of tax professionals. The bill continues the board in existence until March 1, 2010, for the sole purpose of transferring certain functions to the department and continues all rules of the board until superseded by a rule of the commission.
House Bill 2447 requires the comptroller of public accounts to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the department under which the comptroller is required to provide information relating to the educational needs of and opportunities for tax professionals; review and approve educational courses, examinations, and continuing education programs for registrants; supply copies of certain reports and other documents; and provide information and assistance regarding administrative proceedings conducted under the commission's rules or state laws. The bill establishes that a registration is valid for one year and authorizes the commission by rule to adopt a system under which registrations expire on various dates during the year. The bill sets out provisions for setting fees for continuing education courses and for the providers of such courses, which apply to continuing education that must be completed by a registrant on or after June 1, 2010. The bill establishes requirements for applying for an examination for certification and determining the content of the examination and guidelines for denying a registration or taking other disciplinary actions against a person who violates these provisions or a commission rule, imposing administrative penalties, and dismissing a complaint relating to an appraised value of a property. The bill requires the board, in cooperation with and at the direction of the department, to complete certain computer programming and other tasks in connection with the recording of transactions relating to the regulation of tax professionals and to request that the comptroller grant the department inquiry-only security access to certain statewide information systems.
House Bill 2447 amends the Government Code and the Tax Code to make conforming changes. The bill takes effect September 1, 2009, except for the provisions relating to the board's completion of computer programming tasks and the department's access to certain statewide information systems, which take effect June 19, 2009.