This law creates the California Board of Accountancy within the Department of Consumer Affairs, consisting of 15 members. Seven of these members are accountants licensed by the board, while the other eight are public members who are not licensed accountants. The Governor appoints four public members and all seven licensed accountants, ensuring a mix from the accounting profession. The Senate Committee on Rules and the Speaker of the Assembly each appoint two public members. This law is valid until January 1, 2029, when it is set to be repealed, and at that time, the board will be reviewed by the Legislature's policy committees, focusing on new licensing requirements and relevant issues.

This law states that the California Board of Accountancy's top priority is to protect the public when handling matters like licensing and discipline. If public protection conflicts with other goals, protecting the public should come first.

This rule sets criteria for public members on the state board. It says that a public member cannot be a current or former license holder of the board or have family ties to one. They also can't work for or have financial interests in accounting, bookkeeping, or tax preparation businesses. Public members must also fulfill other requirements outlined in a different section.

This law describes the qualifications for members of a board related to accountancy in California. Most board members must be practicing accountants for at least five years before their appointment. They also need to be U.S. citizens who have lived in California for at least five years and have good character. After being appointed, members must take an oath of office. However, the Governor can appoint one board member who is a teacher in a college or university accounting program without requiring that person to have a practice history.

The current board officers will stay in their positions until new officers are chosen and ready to take over.

This section outlines who should lead board meetings if the usual leader isn't available. The president runs the meetings, but if they're not there, the vice president takes over. If neither can do it, then the secretary-treasurer steps in. If all of them are unavailable, the president can pick another board member to lead the meeting. Besides, the board decides what other responsibilities these officers have.

This law requires the board to prepare a report about its activities, including any changes to the rules and regulations, and share this with all license holders at least twice a year. They can do this by sending emails or posting the information on their website.

This law states that the board is responsible for keeping a list of all licensed professionals, including important details they deem necessary. This list should be accessible to both the licensees and the general public.

This law states that the email addresses provided by individuals applying for or holding licenses with a board are not public records and cannot be shared with others, even if requested under the California Public Records Act. The only exception to this rule is if a court orders the disclosure of the email addresses.

This law gives a board the power to create, change, or remove rules to effectively manage its operations and duties. These changes must follow a specific process outlined in another section of the government code.

This section states that the board is responsible for deciding where its main office will be. It also allows the board to set up additional branch offices in different places if needed.

This law simply states that there is a requirement for the board to have an official seal.

This law requires the board to maintain detailed records of everything it does, including actions by its committees. In court cases, whether civil or criminal, these records can be used as evidence. If the records are certified correct by the board's executive officer and have the board's official seal, they are assumed to be accurate unless proven otherwise.

This law allows the board to hire clerks, examiners, and other help as needed to do its work, and to pay them salaries and cover their necessary expenses, unless there's a rule in Section 159.5 that says otherwise.

This law allows the board to appoint someone as an executive officer who isn't part of the regular government employee system. This person will perform certain powers and duties assigned by the board. However, this rule will only be valid until January 1, 2029, after which it will be canceled.

This law section explains that more than half of the board members need to be present for any official meeting to proceed. Meetings must follow the notification rules of the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act. The board is required to meet at least twice a year, and these meetings can be called by the president and executive officer. If any two board members want a special meeting, they can ask the executive officer to arrange it.

In California, meetings of the board must generally be open to the public. However, there are exceptions where the board can have private meetings, known as executive sessions. These private meetings can be used to discuss decisions based on evidence from certain proceedings or to handle things like preparing and grading exams. These exceptions ensure that sensitive discussions around decision-making and exams can happen without public interference.

Once the board approves the minutes from its public meetings, it has to put them online within 10 days. These minutes must stay on the website for at least three years. Just having a link to the minutes online meets this rule.

This law section requires the board to stream their public meetings online with either live audio or video. If technical issues prevent them from doing this, it's not a violation as long as they tried their best to make it work. Even if the live stream fails, the board can still meet and make decisions. Recordings of these meetings need to be available on their website for at least three years, and just providing a link to the recording fulfills this obligation.

This section allows the board to create, update, or remove rules for professional conduct to ensure high integrity within the profession. Every licensed professional will receive a copy of these rules at least 30 days before a public hearing is held to discuss any objections to them. All licensees must follow the standards set by the California Board of Accountancy.

When someone applies for a certificate or registration, they must confirm that they've read and understood the professional conduct rules set by the board.

This law allows the board to set up an advisory committee of up to 13 licensees to provide technical advice and help the board with certain functions. However, this committee only gives advice, cannot start any disciplinary actions, and can only report their findings back to the board or the board's executive officer if they are directed to do so.

Members of both the enforcement advisory and qualifications committees serve two-year terms.

If you apply to become a certified public accountant (CPA) and are unhappy with the qualifications committee's decision about your application, you can appeal to the board. The board might give you an oral or written test to help decide if you meet the requirements.

This law allows the board to establish advisory committees to provide recommendations on specific matters. These committees can include board members and non-members.

This law allows the board to hire accountants as consultants and experts to help with investigations and legal matters. These contracts don't follow certain government procedures, but they need to meet specific standards. The board can choose to hire these experts without opening the job to everyone (sole source basis). If these experts get sued for their work with the board, the board will cover their legal defense and any judgment against them, similar to protections given to public employees. Every year, the board must report the details of these contracts to the legislature, including the cost and effectiveness.

This section explains that the California Board of Accountancy sometimes needs extra money for urgent enforcement and legal actions to protect the public. If the board unexpectedly needs more funds for these purposes, the Department of Finance can approve up to $2 million more in spending from the Accountancy Fund. The board needs to demonstrate that this extra money is necessary and that they couldn't predict the need for it ahead of time.

This law allows a board to set aside funds for a contract related to legal matters, such as lawsuits or enforcement. These funds can be used for up to two years after the end of the fiscal year when the contract was made. Importantly, these funds are approved for use continuously over this period, without concern for specific fiscal year boundaries, as long as they stay within the authorized time limit.