CO SB 76
enactedCertification & Practice of Certified Public Accountants
Colorado · 2026 Regular Session · upper
Subscribe in a feed reader. The feed covers recorded actions from the last 30 days; Bill Commons may record an action after it happened at the legislature.
Quick answers
Did CO SB 76 pass?
Yes. CO SB 76 has been enacted into law. Latest recorded action (2026-01-28): Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Business, Labor, & Technology
What is CO SB 76 about?
The act expands the ways in which individuals may become eligible for certification as a certified public accountant (CPA) in Colorado by creating 3 new education and experience pathways that may satisfy the requirements for CPA certification. The pathways become available for applicants beginning on January 1, 2027. The 3 pathways are:Obtaining a baccalaureate degree, completing 2 years of accounting-related work experience, completing a professional ethics course, and passing the written CPA exam;Obtaining a baccalaureate degree, completing 30 additional semester hours, completing one year of accounting-related work experience, completing a professional ethics course, and passing the written CPA exam; andObtaining a post-baccalaureate degree, completing one year of accounting-related work experience, completing a professional ethics course, and passing the written CPA exam. For each pathway, an applicant's work experience must:Meet the requirements set by the Colorado state board of accountancy (board) by rule;Include any type of service or advice representing certain accounting-related skills needed to serve the public at the time of initial certification; andBe verified by an actively licensed CPA who meets board requirements. Section 2 of the act conforms statutory provisions relating to an applicant's eligibility to sit for a CPA examination with the pathways to certification created by the act. Section 2 also reinforces that, regardless of an applicant's eligibility to sit for an exam, the applicant must complete one of the specified pathways in order to obtain a CPA certificate. Section 4 establishes that an individual CPA who is licensed or certified in good standing in another state or jurisdiction of the United States and whose principle place of business is located in another state or jurisdiction of the United States (out-of-state CPA) has all the same practice privileges as Colorado certificate holders, without the need to obtain a Colorado certificate, if the individual was required at their initial licensure or certification in the other state or jurisdiction of the United States to pass the uniform CPA examination and obtain a baccalaureate degree conferred by an accredited college or university. Additionally, the act continues the practice privileges of out-of-state CPAs who held practice privileges in Colorado as of December 31, 2024. Finally, the conferral of practice privileges upon out-of-state CPAs must be conducted in conformity with rules adopted by the board; except that the board shall not require an out-of-state CPA to provide a notice, fee, or other submission as a condition of exercising such practice privileges in Colorado.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
Who sponsors CO SB 76?
M. Snyder, R. Stewart, C. Richardson and 2 others are the primary sponsors of CO SB 76, joined by 10 cosponsors.
Description
The act expands the ways in which individuals may become eligible for certification as a certified public accountant (CPA) in Colorado by creating 3 new education and experience pathways that may satisfy the requirements for CPA certification. The pathways become available for applicants beginning on January 1, 2027. The 3 pathways are:Obtaining a baccalaureate degree, completing 2 years of accounting-related work experience, completing a professional ethics course, and passing the written CPA exam;Obtaining a baccalaureate degree, completing 30 additional semester hours, completing one year of accounting-related work experience, completing a professional ethics course, and passing the written CPA exam; andObtaining a post-baccalaureate degree, completing one year of accounting-related work experience, completing a professional ethics course, and passing the written CPA exam. For each pathway, an applicant's work experience must:Meet the requirements set by the Colorado state board of accountancy (board) by rule;Include any type of service or advice representing certain accounting-related skills needed to serve the public at the time of initial certification; andBe verified by an actively licensed CPA who meets board requirements. Section 2 of the act conforms statutory provisions relating to an applicant's eligibility to sit for a CPA examination with the pathways to certification created by the act. Section 2 also reinforces that, regardless of an applicant's eligibility to sit for an exam, the applicant must complete one of the specified pathways in order to obtain a CPA certificate. Section 4 establishes that an individual CPA who is licensed or certified in good standing in another state or jurisdiction of the United States and whose principle place of business is located in another state or jurisdiction of the United States (out-of-state CPA) has all the same practice privileges as Colorado certificate holders, without the need to obtain a Colorado certificate, if the individual was required at their initial licensure or certification in the other state or jurisdiction of the United States to pass the uniform CPA examination and obtain a baccalaureate degree conferred by an accredited college or university. Additionally, the act continues the practice privileges of out-of-state CPAs who held practice privileges in Colorado as of December 31, 2024. Finally, the conferral of practice privileges upon out-of-state CPAs must be conducted in conformity with rules adopted by the board; except that the board shall not require an out-of-state CPA to provide a notice, fee, or other submission as a condition of exercising such practice privileges in Colorado.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)
- Introduced
- 2026-01-28
- Latest action
- 2026-01-28 — Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Business, Labor, & Technology
- Bill type
- bill
- Last updated
- —
Subjects
Sponsors
- M. Snydersponsor
- R. Stewartsponsor
- C. Richardsonsponsor
- W. Lindstedtsponsor
- L. Frizellsponsor
- I. Jodehcosponsor
- J. Colemancosponsor
- R. Keltiecosponsor
- J. Carsoncosponsor
- S. Brightcosponsor
- M. Catlincosponsor
- R. Peltoncosponsor
- J. Marchmancosponsor
- L. Listoncosponsor
- B. Kirkmeyercosponsor
Committees
Not provided by source.
Action timeline
Newest first
2026-05-04
Governor Signed
executive-signature
2026-04-23
Sent to the Governor
executive-receipt
2026-04-22
Signed by the President of the Senate
passage
2026-04-22
Signed by the Speaker of the House
passage
2026-04-02
House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments
passage,reading-3
2026-03-31
House Third Reading Laid Over Daily - No Amendments
2026-03-30
House Second Reading Special Order - Passed - No Amendments
2026-03-27
House Second Reading Laid Over Daily - No Amendments
2026-03-25
House Committee on Business Affairs & Labor Refer Unamended to House Committee of the Whole
committee-passage,referral-committee
2026-02-18
Senate Third Reading Passed - No Amendments
passage,reading-3
2026-02-18
Introduced In House - Assigned to Business Affairs & Labor
introduction
2026-02-17
Senate Second Reading Passed - No Amendments
reading-2
2026-02-12
Senate Committee on Business, Labor, & Technology Refer Unamended - Consent Calendar to Senate Committee of the Whole
committee-passage
2026-01-28
Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Business, Labor, & Technology
introduction
Versions
Documents
Votes
Refer Senate Bill 26-076 to the Committee of the Whole and with a recommendation that it be placed on the consent calendar.
2026-02-12 · pass · 0-0
Member-level votes (5)
- Marc Catlin: yes
- Iman Jodeh: yes
- Larry Liston: yes
- Nick Hinrichsen: yes
- Jessie Danielson: yes
Refer Senate Bill 26-076 to the Committee of the Whole.
2026-03-25 · pass · 0-0
Member-level votes (13)
- Max Brooks: yes
- Regina English: yes
- Ryan Gonzalez: yes
- Rebecca Keltie: yes
- Sheila Lieder: yes
- Javier Mabrey: yes
- Bob Marshall: yes
- Tisha Mauro: yes
- Chris Richardson: yes
- Gretchen Rydin: yes
- Larry Don Suckla: yes
- Sean Camacho: excused
- Naquetta Ricks: yes
BILL
2026-04-02 · pass · 0-0
Member-level votes (65)
- Bacon: yes
- Barron: yes
- Boesenecker: yes
- Bottoms: yes
- Bradfield: yes
- Bradley: yes
- Brooks: yes
- Brown: yes
- Caldwell: yes
- Camacho: yes
- Carter: yes
- Clifford: yes
- DeGraaf: yes
- Duran: yes
- English: excused
- Espenoza: yes
- Feret: yes
- Flanell: yes
- Froelich: yes
- Garcia: yes
- Garcia Sander: yes
- Gilchrist: yes
- Goldstein: yes
- Gonzalez R.: excused
- Hamrick: yes
- Hartsook: yes
- Jackson: yes
- Johnson: yes
- Joseph: yes
- Keltie: yes
- Lieder: yes
- Lindsay: yes
- Luck: yes
- Lukens: yes
- Mabrey: yes
- Marshall: yes
- Martinez: yes
- Mauro: yes
- McCormick: yes
- Nguyen: yes
- Paschal: yes
- Phillips: yes
- Richardson: yes
- Ricks: yes
- Rutinel: yes
- Rydin: yes
- Sirota: yes
- Slaugh: yes
- Smith: yes
- Soper: yes
- Stewart K.: yes
- Stewart R.: yes
- Story: yes
- Suckla: yes
- Taggart: yes
- Titone: yes
- Valdez: yes
- Velasco: yes
- Weinberg: yes
- Willford: yes
- Winter T.: yes
- Woodrow: yes
- Woog: yes
- Zokaie: yes
- McCluskie: yes
Related bills
No related bills recorded for this bill.
Official source
Attribution
Data from openstates_api_sync, retrieved 2026-08-08T01:57:41.193191Z
Inspect retained evidence for changes recorded after evidence tracking began:
Session-wide evidence can include changes to other bills:
Use this data
Every field on this page is available from the free public API — no key or licence required. Fetch this bill as JSON: GET /api/v1/bills?jurisdiction=CO&identifier=SB 76. See the API docs or the MCP server for AI assistants.
Known limitations
- Sponsor party and chamber affiliation are not yet captured by this API.
- Committee referrals are not yet captured.
- Some documents have no extracted text yet, so version comparison may be limited.
See the methodology page for data sources and limitations.