The New York State Legislature passed a bill on Thursday that establishes an additional pathway to CPA licensure, and it awaits Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature.
Backed by the New York State Society of CPAs, the legislation creates a third pathway to licensure: 120 credit-hours (or what is equivalent to a bachelor’s degree), two years of experience and passing the CPA exam. It also ensures practice mobility so out-of-state accountants can serve clients in New York.
The bill passed unanimously in the Assembly and with two negative votes in the Senate.
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“Passing one piece of legislation is not an easy task, let alone passing two,” NYCPA CEO Calvin Harris said in a statement. “Furthermore, the Society with our partners in Albany introduced additional pathway legislation this year. I’ve been told that it is almost impossible and completely unprecedented to pass any form of legislation in just one legislative session, but with the help of nearly 40 members that participated in Lobby Day in May, our exceptional Government Relations Teams and our coalition partners, which includes our PAC and Legislative Task Force, we took the united voice of the profession to the halls of power and demonstrated why advocacy is one of the greatest member benefits.”
New York is one of more than a dozen states that have already passed changes to licensure requirements in an ongoing effort to address the profession’s talent shortage. Most recently, Illinois and Minnesota passed similar bills in May.
The New York State Legislature passed another NYCPA-backed bill on June 9, which would authorize the use of electronic signatures by a person granted Power of Attorney with respect to the submitted tax documents. The bill passed unanimously in the Assembly and with one negative vote in the Senate. It also awaits the signature of Gov. Hochul.
