Senate Business, Labor, & Technology

Thursday, February 12, 2026·22m·▶ Watch / Listen

The Senate Business, Labor & Technology Committee took up a single measure, unanimously advancing SB26-076 to the consent calendar after CPAs and students warned of a deepening accountant shortage driven by the state's 150-hour licensing requirement.

Key Actions

·Certification & Practice of Certified Public AccountantsPassed

Notable Quotes

“Our members have identified that the talent pipeline is their top concern. And the 150 hour requirement that currently stands is being viewed as a significant barrier. With fewer CPAs entering, workload increases, burnout worsens, and then the profession becomes less attractive to future candidates. And thus the cycle continues”
Alicia Gelinas (CEO, Colorado Society of CPAs) · witness — Framed the core rationale for the bill — that the current credit-hour requirement is choking the CPA pipeline in a self-reinforcing cycle.

+ 3 more quotes

Votes

Referred to Committee of the Whole and with a recommendation that it be placed on the consent calendarAction

Yes (5)Marc Catlin, Iman Jodeh, Larry Liston, Nick Hinrichsen, Jessie Danielson

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TranscriptPreview

Welcome back, everybody, to the first meeting of the Senate Business, labor and Technology Committee. The committee will come to order. Ms. Chapman, please call the roll. Senator Catlin. Here. Judah. Excused. Here. Henriksen. Here. Madam Chair. Here. All right, thanks, everybody, for being here today. It's nice to have you back. We are hearing one bill, Senate Bill 76. What the sponsors like to tell us about their bill. Senator Linstad. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, committee members, for hearing our bill today. You know, this job sometimes brings you into new areas of policy and problems facing our state that you didn't expect. And today is a certification adjustment to certified public accountants. Hang on one second, Senator. Oh, I don't sound like that, do I? I'm just glad I don't hear myself. Give me a second till we can resolve the echo. Good. Thank you. Sorry. Please proceed. Thank you. So we have a tremendous shortage of CPAs in Colorado. And nationally, the decline in CPA completions is almost three times higher than that of other undergraduate enrollments. And it's leading to huge problems for businesses, nonprofits, individuals who need CPA services. So what our bill…

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