88(R) HB 797 - House Committee Report version - Bill Text
  88R16590 DIO-D
 
  By:  Button, Cook, Bell of Kaufman, et al. H.B.  No.  797
 
  Substitute the following for  H.B.  No.  797:
 
  By:    Thompson of Harris C.S.H.B.  No.  797
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to eligibility requirements for a certified public
  accountant certificate and to take the uniform CPA examination.
               BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
               SECTION  1.    Section 901.252, Occupations Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
               Sec.  901.252.    ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS. To be eligible to
  receive a certificate, a person must:
                           (1)    satisfy the requirements of Section 901.253;
                           (2)    complete at least 150 semester hours or
  quarter-hour equivalents in board-recognized courses, including an
  accounting concentration or equivalent courses that meet the
  education requirements established under Section 901.254 or
  901.255, as determined by board rule;
                           (3)    pass the uniform CPA examination;
                           (4)    meet the work experience requirements established
  under Section 901.256; and
                           (5)    pass an examination on the rules of professional
  conduct as determined by board rule.
               SECTION  2.    Section 901.254, Occupations Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
               Sec.  901.254.    EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS. (a)  To be eligible
  to take the uniform CPA examination, an applicant must:
                           (1)    hold a baccalaureate or graduate degree, or its
  equivalent as determined by board rule, conferred by a
  board-recognized institution of higher education; and
                           (2)    complete at least 120 [150] semester hours or
  quarter-hour equivalents in board-recognized courses, including at
  least 24 semester hours of [an] accounting [concentration] or
  equivalent courses as determined by board rule.
               (b)    A rule adopted under Subsection (a)(2) may not require
  that an applicant complete more than 21 semester hours of
  upper-level accounting courses.
               SECTION  3.    Section 901.256(a), Occupations Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
               (a)    To be eligible to receive a certificate, a person must
  complete[:
                           [(1)    at least two years of work experience under the
  supervision of a certified public accountant; or
                           [(2)]    at least one year of work experience acceptable
  to the board, including experience providing a service or advice
  involving accounting, attest services, management or financial
  advisory or consulting services, tax services, or other services
  the board considers appropriate for an accountant, if the person:
                           (1)  [(A)]    has completed at least 150 semester hours of
  college credits; or
                           (2)  [(B)]    holds a graduate degree.
               SECTION  4.    Sections 901.252 and 901.256(a), Occupations
  Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to an application for a
  public accountant certificate submitted on or after the effective
  date of this Act. An application for a public accountant
  certificate submitted before the effective date of this Act is
  governed by the law in effect on the date the application was
  submitted, and the former law is continued in effect for that
  purpose.
               SECTION  5.    Section 901.254, Occupations Code, as amended by
  this Act, applies only to an application to take an examination
  submitted on or after the effective date of this Act. An
  application to take an examination submitted before the effective
  date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the
  application was submitted, and the former law is continued in
  effect for that purpose.
               SECTION  6.    This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: Occupations Code 901.254 (Occupations Code 901)
House Committee Report: Occupations Code 901.252, Occupations Code 901.254, Occupations Code 901.256 (Occupations Code 901)