Connecticut § 20-280e - Connecticut Certified Public Accountant's Certificate: Issuance, qualifications, requirements, prohibitions.

§ 20-280e. Connecticut Certified Public Accountant's Certificate: Issuance, qualifications, requirements, prohibitions.

Sec. 20-280e. Connecticut Certified Public Accountant's Certificate: Issuance, qualifications, requirements, prohibitions. (a) The State Board of Accountancy shall issue a Connecticut Certified Public Accountant's Certificate to any person who has been granted the designation “certified public accountant” and who submits an application and pays the applicable fee for an initial certified public accountant certificate. No person issued an initial certificate, pursuant to this section, shall engage in the practice of public accountancy or use the title or designation “certified public accountant”, or the abbreviations “CPA”, or any other title, designation, words, letters, abbreviation, sign, card or device tending to indicate that such person is a certified public accountant, except as permitted in accordance with sections 20-280 and 20-281g.

(b) (1) Any individual who has been convicted of any criminal offense may request, at any time, that the Department of Consumer Protection determine whether such individual's criminal conviction disqualifies such individual from obtaining a certificate or license issued or conferred pursuant to this chapter based on (A) the nature of the conviction and its relationship to such individual's ability to safely or competently perform the duties or responsibilities associated with such certificate or license, (B) information pertaining to the degree of rehabilitation of such individual, and (C) the time elapsed since the conviction or release of such individual.

(2) An individual making a request under subdivision (1) of this subsection shall make such request on a form, and in a manner, prescribed by the Commissioner of Consumer Protection, which form shall require the individual to (A) submit to state and national criminal history records checks conducted in accordance with section 29-17a, and (B) provide details of the individual's criminal conviction.

(3) Not later than thirty days after receiving a complete request under subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection, the department shall inform the individual making such request whether, based on the criminal record information submitted, such individual is disqualified from receiving or holding a certificate or license issued pursuant to this chapter.

(4) The department is not bound by a determination made under this section if, upon further investigation, the department determines that the individual's criminal conviction differs from the information presented in such individual's determination request made under this subsection.

(P.A. 06-31, S. 1; P.A. 08-52, S. 8; P.A. 22-88, S. 17; P.A. 23-90, S. 3.)

History: P.A. 08-52 replaced former provisions with requirements for issuance of a Connecticut Certified Public Account's Certificate, effective May 12, 2008; P.A. 22-88 designated existing provision as Subsec. (a) and added Subsec. (b) re provisions for individuals convicted of a criminal offense to request commissioner determination whether such conviction disqualifies them from receiving a license; P.A. 23-99 amended Subsec. (b) by substituting references to Department of Consumer Protection for references to State Board of Accountancy, adding references to certificate in Subdivs. (1) and (3), adding provisions re form and manner of request and deleting provisions re payment and fee in Subdiv. (2), adding new Subdiv. (2)(A) re state and national criminal history records checks, designating existing provisions re provision of details of individual's criminal conviction as Subdiv. (2)(B), adding “complete” in Subdiv. (3), and making technical and conforming changes, effective June 29, 2023.