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HB2465 - 572R - I Ver
REFERENCE TITLE:
citizenship status; licensure; documentation
State of Arizona
House of Representatives
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
HB 2465
Introduced by
Representatives
Sandoval: Abeytia, Aguilar, Austin, Blattman, Connolly, Contreras L,
Contreras P, Crews, Garcia, Liguori, Luna-N�jera, M�rquez, Mathis, Peshlakai,
Simacek, Stahl Hamilton, Tsosie, Villegas;� Senators Alston, Epstein,
Gabald�n, Kuby, Ortiz, Sundareshan
AN
ACT
amending section 32-721, Arizona Revised
Statutes; repealing section 41-1080, Arizona Revised Statutes; amending
title 41, chapter 6, article 7.2, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding a new
section 41-1080; relating to licensing requirements.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 32-721, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
32-721.
Certified public accountants; qualifications
A. The board shall issue a certificate of certified
public accountant to any individual who complies with all of the following:
1. Meets the requirements of section
41-1080.
2.
1.
Is
at least eighteen years of age.
3.
2.
Has
not engaged in any conduct that would constitute grounds for revocation or
suspension of a certificate or other disciplinary action pursuant to section 32-741.
4.
3.
Meets
the requirements of subsection B, C or D of this section.
B. If the applicant passes the uniform
certified public accountant examination and has never been certified,
registered or licensed as a certified public accountant in this state or
another jurisdiction, the applicant must comply with both of the following:
1. Have had at least two thousand hours
of paid or unpaid experience, either before or after passing all sections of
the uniform certified public accountant examination, that has exposed the
applicant to and provided the applicant with experience in the practice of
accounting.� The applicant's experience must be sufficient to demonstrate the
applicant's ability for critical inquiry and analysis of financial accounting
information, including balance sheets, income statements, cash flow statements
or tax returns and the applicant's ability to communicate, either orally or in
writing, on the results of an inquiry or analysis of that information to an
employer, client or third party.
2. Present satisfactory evidence that the
person has successfully obtained a baccalaureate degree or higher degree from
an accredited institution or a college or university that maintains standards
comparable to those of an accredited institution and that the applicant has
completed at least one hundred fifty semester hours of education of which:
(a) At least thirty-six semester
hours are nonduplicative accounting courses of which at least thirty semester
hours are upper-level courses.
(b) At least thirty semester hours are
related courses.
C. If the applicant passes the uniform
certified public accountant examination or the international qualification
examination and has a certificate, registration or license to practice as a
certified public accountant in another jurisdiction and the applicant has never
had a certificate issued by the board expire or be relinquished or revoked, at
least one of the following shall apply:
1. The certificate, registration or
license is issued by a jurisdiction whose requirements are determined by the
board to be substantially equivalent to the requirements prescribed in
subsection B of this section.
2. The applicant has a baccalaureate
degree or its equivalent or a higher degree from an accredited institution or a
college or university that maintains standards comparable to those of an
accredited institution and either of the following applies:
(a) The applicant has been employed as a
certified public accountant in the practice of accounting for at least three
years and has completed at least one hundred fifty semester hours of education
that includes both of the following:
(i) At least twenty-four semester
hours of nonduplicative accounting courses, of which twelve semester hours are
upper-level courses.
(ii) At least eighteen semester hours in
related courses.
(b) The applicant has been employed as a
certified public accountant in the practice of accounting for at least five of
the ten preceding years and has completed both of the following:
(i) At least twenty-four semester
hours of nonduplicative accounting courses, of which twelve semester hours are
upper-level courses.
(ii) At least eighteen semester hours in
related courses.
3. The applicant has been employed as a
certified public accountant in the practice of accounting for at least ten of
the fifteen preceding years.
D. If an applicant passes the
international uniform certified public accountant qualification examination of
the American institute of certified public accountants, all of the following
apply:
1. The applicant's country has a mutual
recognition agreement with the national association of state boards of
accountancy that has been adopted by the board.
2. The board recognizes that the applicant's
qualifications are substantially equivalent to the qualifications of certified
public accountants in the United States in the areas of education, examination
and experience.
END_STATUTE
Sec. 2.
Repeal
Section 41-1080, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is repealed.
Sec. 3. Title 41, chapter 6, article 7.2,
Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section 41-1080, to read:
START_STATUTE
41-1080.
Licensure; documentation; tax identification number; definitions
A. An agency may not require an
individual who is applying for a license to provide documentation of
citizenship or alien status.
B. If an agency requires an
individual's social security number for the purposes of applying for a license,
the agency shall accept the INDIVIDUAL'S federal tax identification number
instead of a social security number.
C. For the purposes of this section:
1. "Agency" means any
agency, department, board or commission of this state or any political
subdivision of this state that issues a license to operate a business in this
state or a license to an individual who provides a service to any person.
2. "License" means any
agency permit, certificate, approval, registration or charter or similar form
of authorization that is required by law and that an agency issues to operate a
business in this state or issues to an individual who provides a service to any
person and the license is necessary to perform that service.
END_STATUTE