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CBA committee adopts regulatory package to implement AB 1175 pathway and modernize licensure rules
Summary
The committee voted to initiate a package of regulation changes to implement Assembly Bill 1175 and modernize mobility, education and experience rules; the package includes new definitions, board recognition processes for degrees and certificates, experience-substitution rules and operative/transition dates tied to the bill’s timeline.
The Committee on Professional Conduct on Sept. 19 voted to adopt a proposed regulatory package to implement provisions of Assembly Bill 1175 and to modernize mobility and licensure rules, contingent on enactment of the bill.
Board staff summarized extensive proposed changes to the California Code of Regulations, title 16, including repeal of section 5.5 (to conform with the bill’s elimination of substantial equivalency reliance), additions and edits to definitions, new sections defining education requirements and subject areas (accounting, business-related and ethics), and a board recognition process for qualifying accounting degrees and certificates.
"The effective date of the new law would be 01/01/2026 for most provisions," staff said, and the enhanced examination and licensure pathway would be available beginning Jan. 1, 2027; the legacy pathway would be inoperative as of Jan. 1, 2029. Staff noted the package updates forms and instructions for credential evaluation services, clarifies settings in which qualifying experience may be gained, and lists criteria and removal grounds for board recognition of degrees and certificates.
The item reflects policy decisions the board previously approved, staff said, and includes new sections that allow certain advanced accounting degrees or board-recognized certificates to substitute for one year of general accounting experience in the licensure pathway where applicable. Staff also proposed clarifying language to require supervising licensees to appear before the Qualifications Committee if the board requests substantiation of experience determinations.
The motion before the committee — to initiate rulemaking on the proposed regulatory text, contingent on enactment of AB 1175 — was moved and seconded and passed on roll call. Jason Fox of the California Society of CPAs offered public comment in support of the package and thanked staff for thorough work coordinating stakeholders, including college faculty, students and practitioners.
Committee members praised the staff’s multi-year effort to draft the package and urged quick implementation if the bill becomes law so that the board can update internal systems and outreach materials in advance of the operative dates.
With the committee’s approval, staff will proceed with the rulemaking sequence contingent on AB 1175 enactment and the package’s timeline: many provisions effective Jan. 1, 2026; the enhanced pathway available Jan. 1, 2027; and full transition to the enhanced pathway Jan. 1, 2029.
