Collaboration leads to beneficial change for licensure and the accounting pipeline in Oregon

The success of OSCPA advocacy over the years has been built on member collaboration. This year has been no exception. It has been my privilege to work with members and state leaders in support of the Oregon CPA profession. While OSCPA advocacy is year-round, I want to share some highlights from the Oregon Regular Legislative Session.

SB 797 – Successful passage of alternative licensure pathways bill
What the bill does: SB 797 provides for three alternative licensure pathway options plus other important items including changes for inactive licenses, etc. The successful bill was signed by the governor and goes into effect on January 1, 2026. Two additional pathways have been added for CPA candidate licensure:

• A bachelor’s* degree plus two years of qualifying experience
• A master’s degree plus one year of experience
• The current pathway of 150-semester hours with a bachelor’s* degree and one year of qualifying experience was retained

Note: Once education and qualifications to sit for Uniform CPA Examination have been completed by a CPA Candidate, licensure requires successful completion of all parts of the Exam as well as completion of qualifying experience.

*The bachelor’s degree for licensure was formerly referred to as 120-hours. National conversations have changed the reference to bachelor’s degree versus stating specific hours.

SB 796 – Successful passage of scholarship grant
What the bill does: SB 796 creates a Board of Accountancy (BOA) Accounting Scholarship Grant. The successful bill was signed by the governor and went into effect on July 1, 2025.

The bill provides authority for the BOA to create a grant program for use in the development of need-based scholarships to support the accounting pipeline. The awarding of scholarships will be directed toward university and community college students pursuing accounting degrees with the goal of certification. The scholarships will be awarded beginning with the Fall 2026 school year.

The advocacy journey of SB 797 and SB 796
In reflecting on the last three years of combined efforts between OSCPA, the Oregon Board of Accountancy, Oregon Association of Independent Accountants (OAIA), and numerous other volunteers, much progress has been made to assist OSCPA members and Oregon licensees.

In the summer of 2022, OSCPA and BOA began having conversations regarding needed rule changes. The BOA formed a Laws & Rules Committee inviting representative Amanda Fels of OAIA and me representing OSCPA, to join as official committee members. This was a significant step as it provided our organizations with the opportunity to provide direct input. Extensive meetings, research, analysis, and discussions have since been completed, leading to changes in processes as well as Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR) including those impacting retired status. Discussion was also held on proposed changes relating to the inactive license of which legislative changes were required.

In the fall of 2023, Martin Pittioni, BOA Executive Director, attended an OSCPA Board of Directors meeting to discuss alternative licensure pathways which would become SB 797, as well as the concept of a scholarship grant which would become SB 796 in the 2025 Oregon Legislative Regular (aka long) Session.

The proposed changes were in recognition of the challenges affecting the pipeline as well as the needs of the public and profession, etc. The goal everyone was working toward was that 2025 would be the next regular session where the bills could be advanced. They could not be advanced in 2026 as the even-numbered year short session had a limited number of bills to be advanced due to its 35-day duration.

By the end of 2024, a set of three separate rule changes had been completed. It is not typical for rules to be changed that frequently, but these were needed. At the same time, national conversations were also occurring amongst a number of CPA Societies and Boards who were also seriously advancing the concept of expanding the pathways to licensure. In Oregon, feedback in support was expressed by members and licensees, fueled by local and national pipeline concerns, recognition of educational costs, emerging research, etc.

For the 2025 Legislative Session, the BOA advanced Legislative Concepts (LC) for each of the alternative pathways which would become SB 797 as well as the scholarship concept which would become SB 796. Additionally, OSCPA advanced a backup alternative pathways placeholder bill in the event the LC did not advance. 

The announcement by BOA Executive Director Martin Pittioni along with BOA Chair Haley Lyons, OSCPA Chair Gary Holcomb, OSCPA Past Chair John Hawkins, and OSCPA President/CEO Sherri McPherson at the May 22, 2025, OSCPA Circle of Excellence awards evening was memorable. It was a joyous and celebratory announcement after much advocacy effort since that evening event recognizes accomplishments such as OSCPA Educational Foundation scholarship recipients, top accounting students, faculty, new CPAs, milestone members and many others.

Oregon is now one of at least 23 jurisdictions nationwide that have passed legislation expanding pathways to licensure since Ohio became the first in January 2025. The Oregon bill takes effect January 1, 2026, and is part of an extensive national effort to expand pathways for CPA licensure in support of the CPA pipeline, while making effort to protect CPA mobility and substantial equivalency. Other jurisdictions are in the process of doing so, plus some jurisdictions will be working on passage in 2025 and 2026. At present, the Oregon Board of Accountancy’s related rulemaking for SB 797 is in process, and based on rulemaking timing, licensure under the new bill will begin in February 2026.

Of note, Oregon’s collaborative efforts and ultimate success are beneficial not only to those in Oregon but also nationally. Other components of SB 797 include the addition of substantial equivalency language, changes affecting inactive licensees of the Oregon Board of Accountancy, and a variety of important housekeeping changes as well.

At the same time, much activity related to the scholarship grant via SB 796 was also happening. Over these many prior months, the BOA and BOA Pipeline Committee were working on the scholarship bill and details for the possible advancement of a grant agreement. Based on a variety of factors, it was recognized that BOA reserves could provide benefit to not only the profession but to the public as well by supporting bringing students into the profession. Great effort was expended by so many, including the extensive efforts of BOA Pipeline Committee Chair Dr. Elizabeth Almer. OSCPA Educational Foundation President David Adams, OSCPA Foundation Past President Chris Dahlvig, and many others also contributed their time and support.

June 11, 2025, was such an exciting day when the legislative vote for SB 796 successfully occurred in the legislature. And it was truly a memorable day when the bill was signed by Governor Kotek on June 20, 2025.

Additionally, past OSCPA Chairs Ray Johnson and Jason Orme have each volunteered with the Board of Accountancy, leading the BOA Laws & Rules Committee through analysis, extensive conversations, and decision-making. Thank you to Jason Orme, John Hawkins, Haley Lyons, and Martin Pittioni for testifying on SB 796. We also wish to thank OAIA for their support of the bills. The strength of the overall collaboration was key to the success. We were also so fortunate to have the support of the Legislature, and to have the bills signed by Governor Kotek.

Reconnect (HB 2092) and tax bills
Reconnect, connecting state law to new federal law yearly, is a key focus of annual OSCPA advocacy efforts. On page 1, OSCPA Legislative Counsel Nicole Hazelbaker shares an informative overview of Reconnect, HB 2092. We would like to thank Nicole for her efforts in supporting OSCPA members and the Society. And, special thanks to Heather Jackson, for her leadership and commitment as Chair of the Taxation Legislative Analysis (Reconnect) Subcommittee. Working with the subcommittee to compare federal to Oregon tax law is no small undertaking and then presenting educational materials as well as testifying along with John Hawkins before House and Senate Finance Committees.

I would also like to express sincere thanks to Bill Review Co-Chairs Adam Abplanalp, Doug Henne, and Heather Jackson for their outstanding service. Together, they have worked with other members reviewing over 248 bills this session. Some years, some bills move through with limited amendments; other years, bills such as the Corporate Activity Tax (CAT), the bill was reviewed 32 times before passage, based on amendments, etc. The efforts of the bill review co-chairs, along with committee members, enable a cohesive review of bills.

Your help is needed
Due to the technical nature of most bills affecting the profession, OSCPA advocacy relies heavily upon the involvement of members. All levels of experience are of value in the bill review process, regardless of the focus, whether taxation, not-for-profit, governmental, or other accounting-related topics. To continue to be successful, we need support from additional members to lighten the load. Members regularly share how much they learn from their participation. Systems are in place to support you if you are new to the process.

Again, thank you to each member who gave tirelessly of their time and expertise to volunteer both this session as well as activities leading up to it. The value of volunteer involvement cannot be overstated. The Taxation Strategic Committee, Legislative Analysis (Reconnect), and Legislative Policy members provide annual support. Additionally, the Governmental and Not-for-Profit Strategic Committees provide invaluable expertise when needed related to those important topics.

Watch BridgeTM for updates and alerts
Separately, thank you as well to those members who post and respond to posts on BridgeTM, the Society’s online member community. Your willingness to share knowledge, guidance, perspective, and in some cases connections with others in and related to the accounting community is invaluable. When urgent topics arise, including those related to advocacy, this is a core solution area for members.

Thank you — your involvement truly makes a difference! See below for more ways you can stay informed throughout the year.  

Sherri McPherson, IOM, CAE, is President/CEO of the Oregon Society of CPAs. She can be reached at 503-597-5480 / 800-255-1470, ext. 120; smcpherson@orcpa.org

Read the complete 2025 OSCPA Advocacy Report