Call to Action: Contact your House Representative to oppose HB 991
April 22, 2025
By FICPA Governmental Affairs
We are asking for your help in contacting your local legislators regarding a bill that has the potential to have catastrophic consequences for the CPA profession.
On Tuesday morning, a proposed committee substitute for HB 991 - Community and Economic Development by Rep. Giallombardo passed the House Commerce Committee. This bill – which is the next step on the path to total CPA deregulation – is now ready to be heard by the full Florida House, and we need you to contact your state representatives now.
In the FICPA Legislative Updates found here and here, we alerted our members to this very concerning legislation that has now been rolled into HB 991.
In short, there are two key provisions we are strongly opposed to:
1. The elimination of all licensing boards, including the Florida Board of Accountancy
- Those functions are rolled under the Department of Business and Professional Regulation with general bureaucratic staff making decisions rather than the Board of your peer CPAs.
2. The elimination of all continuing education requirements for CPAs and other regulated professions and trades
- As a practical matter, CPAs need CPE in order to stay on top of a changing landscape and evolving profession. But more than that, the elimination of the CPE requirement would put Florida out of sync with the rest of the nation. With the loss of CPE reciprocity between states, Florida CPAs may be required to take and report CPE in other states. With the potential loss of mobility while statutes are open, CPAs would need to obtain additional licenses in other states.
Unfortunately, our concerns with this bill have not been resolved, and we are now at the point where we must ask our FICPA members and all Florida CPAs to get involved to make sure the profession is protected. Please understand, should this bill become law, we are just one legislative action away from the complete elimination of licensure in the state of Florida.
Though we may all hold slightly different views around some of the finer details of this proposal, it is critical that the CPA profession stand TOGETHER in a show of strength to mitigate the negative impacts of this legislation. We are asking for your help in making our collective voice heard in the state Capitol.
Contacting your local House Representative is simple. We have already prepared draft messages on your behalf; you may send them as they are or customize your message for greater impact. We suggest you put your location in the subject line of the emails, so the legislators and their staff know you are indeed in their district.
Thank you for your continued support of the FICPA and the profession. If you have any questions, please reach out to Jason Harrell or any member of the FICPA Governmental Affairs Team at govaffairs@ficpa.org.