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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to certified public accountants; 2
amending s. 473.313, F.S.; authorizing certain 3
certified public accountants to apply to the 4
Department of Business and Professional Regulation to 5
place their licenses on retired status; authorizing 6
the Board of Accountancy to prescribe by rule a 7
certain application; providing requirements for the 8
application; providing that a licensee loses retired 9
status in certain circumstances; authorizing a retired 10
licensee to take certain actions without losing 11
retired status; requiring a certain affirmation; 12
authorizing a retired licensee to accept certain 13
reimbursements or per diem amounts; prohibiting a 14
retired licensee from offering or rendering certain 15
professional services; providing for the reactivation 16
of a retired licensee's license; providing 17
requirements for the conditions of such reactivation; 18
providing a definition; amending s. 473.302, F.S.; 19
revising a definition; providing an effective date. 20
21
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 22
23
Section 1. Section 473.313, Florida Statutes, is amended 24
to read: 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
473.313 Inactive status ; retired status.— 26
(1) A Florida certified public accountant may request that 27
her or his license be placed in an inactive status by making 28
application to the department. The board may prescribe by rule 29
fees for placing a license on inactive status, renewal of 30
inactive status, and reactivation of an inactive license. 31
(a)(2) A license that has become inactive under this 32
subsection (1) or for failure to complete the requirements in s. 33
473.312 may be reactivated under s. 473.311 upon application to 34
the department. The board may prescribe by rule continuing 35
education requirements as a condition of reactivating a license. 36
The maximum continuing education requirements for reactivating a 37
license are 120 hours, including at least 30 hours in 38
accounting-related and auditing -related subjects, not more than 39
30 hours in behavior al subjects, and a minimum of 8 hours in 40
ethics subjects approved by the board, for the reactivation of a 41
license that is inactive or delinquent. 42
(b)(3) A license that is delinquent for failure to report 43
completion of the requirements in s. 473.312 may b e reactivated 44
under s. 473.311 upon application to the department. 45
Reactivation requires the payment of an application fee as 46
determined by the board and certification by the Florida 47
certified public accountant that the applicant satisfactorily 48
completed the continuing education requirements set forth under 49
s. 473.311. If the license is delinquent on January 1 because of 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
failure to report completed continuing education requirements, 51
the applicant must submit a complete application to the board by 52
March 15 immediately after the delinquent period. 53
(c)(4) Any Florida certified public accountant holding an 54
inactive license may be permitted to reactivate such license in 55
a conditional manner. The conditions of reactivation shall 56
require the payment of fees and t he completion of required 57
continuing education. 58
(d)(5) Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 455.271, the 59
board may, at its discretion, reinstate the license of an 60
individual whose license has become null and void if the 61
individual has made a good faith e ffort to comply with this 62
section but has failed to comply because of illness or unusual 63
hardship. The individual shall apply to the board for 64
reinstatement in a manner prescribed by rules of the board and 65
shall pay an application fee in an amount determin ed by rule of 66
the board. The board shall require that the individual meet all 67
continuing education requirements as provided in paragraph (a) 68
subsection (2), pay appropriate licensing fees, and otherwise be 69
eligible for renewal of licensure under this chapt er. 70
(2) A Florida certified public accountant who is at least 71
65 years of age, currently holds an active or inactive license 72
in good standing under this chapter, and is not the subject of 73
any sanction or disciplinary action may request that her or his 74
license be placed on retired status by making application to the 75
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
department. The board may prescribe by rule the application for 76
placing a license on retired status, which must state that the 77
applicant has no association with accounting or any of the 78
services described in s. 473.302(8). If a licensee who has been 79
granted retired status reenters the workforce in a position that 80
has an association with accounting or any of the services 81
described in 473.302(8), the licensee automatically loses her or 82
his retired status except as provided in paragraph (a). 83
(a) A retired licensee may, without losing her or his 84
retired status, serve without compensation on a board of 85
directors or board of trustees, provide volunteer tax 86
preparation services, participate in a gover nment-sponsored 87
business mentoring program such as the Internal Revenue 88
Service's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program or the Small 89
Business Administration's SCORE program, or participate in an 90
advisory role for a similar charitable, civic, or other non -91
profit organization. 92
(b) The board shall require a retired licensee to affirm 93
in writing her or his understanding of the limited types of 94
activities in which she or he may engage while in retired status 95
and that she or he has a professional duty to ensu re that she or 96
he holds the professional competencies necessary to participate 97
in such activities. 98
(c) A retired licensee may accept routine reimbursement 99
for actual costs of travel and meals associated with volunteer 100
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services or de minimis per diem amou nts paid to the licensee to 101
cover such expenses as allowed by law. 102
(d) A retired licensee may use the title of "retired CPA" 103
on any business card or letterhead or any other printed or 104
electronic document. However, such title must not be applied in 105
such a manner that could confuse the public as to the current 106
status of the licensee. The licensee is not required to have a 107
certificate issued with the word "retired" on the certificate. 108
(e) A retired licensee is not required to maintain the 109
continuing education requirements under s. 473.312. 110
(f) A retired licensee may not offer or render 111
professional services that require her or his signature and the 112
use of the CPA title, regardless of whether "retired" is 113
attached to such title. 114
(g) A retired licen see may be permitted to reactivate her 115
or his license in a conditional manner as determined by the 116
board. The conditions of reactivation must require the payment 117
of fees and the completion of required continuing education. The 118
board may prescribe by rule a n application for reactivating a 119
license placed on retired status and continuing education 120
requirements as a condition of reactivating a license placed on 121
retired status. The minimum continuing education requirements 122
for reactivating a license placed on re tired status are those of 123
the most recent biennium plus one -half of the requirements in s. 124
473.312 for each year or part thereof during which the license 125
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
was on retired status. Notwithstanding any other provision of 126
this section, the continuing education r equirements are 120 127
hours, including at least 30 hours in accounting -related and 128
auditing-related subjects, a minimum of 8 hours of Florida -129
specific ethics, and not more than 30 hours of behavioral 130
subjects. 131
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For the purposes of this subsection, the term " retired licensee" 133
means a licensee whose license has been placed in retired status 134
by the department. 135
Section 2. Subsection (9) of section 473.302, Florida 136
Statutes, is amended to read: 137
473.302 Definitions. —As used in this chapter, the term: 138
(9) "Uniform Accountancy Act" means the Uniform 139
Accountancy Act, Eighth Seventh Edition, dated January 2018 May 140
2014 and published by the American Institute of Certified Public 141
Accountants and the National Association of State Boards of 142
Accountancy. 143
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However, these terms shall not include services provided by the 145
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants or the 146
Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants, or any full 147
service association of certified public accounting firms whose 148
plans of administration have been approved by the board, to 149
their members or services performed by these entities in 150
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
reviewing the services provided to the public by members of 151
these entities. 152
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 153