In this task, you are given text for US Congressional and California state bills, your task is to generate a summary for this bill.
Q: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ''Tax Return Preparer Competency Act
of 2015''.

SEC. 2. MINIMUM COMPETENCY STANDARDS FOR TAX RETURN PREPARERS.

(a) In General.--Subsection (a) of section 330 of title 31, United
States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
''(1) regulate--
''(A) the practice of representatives of persons
before the Department of the Treasury; and
''(B) tax return preparers (as defined in section
7701(a)(36) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986);
and''; and
(2) in paragraph (2)--
(A) by inserting ''or tax return preparer'' after
''representative'' each place it appears; and
(B) by inserting ''or in preparing their tax
returns, claims for refund, or documents in connection
with tax returns or claims for refund'' after ''cases''
in subparagraph (D).
(b) Failure To Meet Minimum Competency Standards.--Subsection (b)
of section 330 of title 31, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking ''before the Department'';
(2) by inserting ''or tax return preparer'' after
''representative'' each place it appears; and
(3) in paragraph (4), by striking ''misleads or threatens''
and all that follows and inserting ''misleads or threatens--
''(A) any person being represented or any
prospective person being represented; or
''(B) any person or prospective person whose return
(as defined in section 6696(e)(1) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986), claim for refund (as defined in
section 6696(e)(2) of such Code), or document in
connection with a return or claim for refund, is being
or may be prepared.''.
(c) Minimum Competency Standards for Tax Return Preparers.--
(1) In general.--Section 330 of title 31, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
''(e) Tax Return Preparers.--
''(1) In general.--Any tax return preparer (as defined in
section 7701(a)(36) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) shall
demonstrate minimum competency standards under this subsection,
by--
''(A) obtaining an identifying number for securing
proper identification of such preparer as described in
section 6109(a)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986;
''(B) satisfying the examination requirements
described in paragraph (2);
''(C) satisfying the annual continuing education
requirements described in paragraph (3); and
''(D) completing a background check as described in
paragraph (4).
''(2) Examination.--
''(A) In general.--A tax return preparer shall
provide the Secretary with proof of successful
completion of an examination that evaluates the
knowledge and competency of the tax return preparer, as
prescribed by the Secretary through regulations, forms
or instructions, regarding--
''(i) preparation of a return (as defined
in section 6696(e)(1) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986);
''(ii) ethical standards for preparation of
such returns; and
''(iii) other topics as the Secretary may
prescribe.
''(B) Exceptions.--The Secretary shall exempt tax
return preparers from the examination requirements
under this paragraph pursuant to such requirements as
are determined appropriate by the Secretary, which
shall include any comparable examinations administered
by the Secretary or any comparable State licensing or
registration programs.
''(3) Continuing education.--A tax return preparer shall
complete continuing education on an annual basis, which shall
consist of not less than 15 hours of instruction, which shall
include not less than 2 hours of training relating to ethics
and not less than 3 hours relating to Federal tax law updates.
''(4) Background check.--
''(A) In general.--A tax return preparer shall
demonstrate the requirements of subsection (a)(2) by
providing the Secretary with a report, as prescribed by
the Secretary through regulations, forms or
instructions.
''(B) Exceptions.--The Secretary shall exempt tax
return preparers who have been subject to comparable
background checks administered by the Secretary or any
comparable State licensing or registration programs.''.
(d) Contingency Fees.--The Secretary of the Treasury may not
regulate, prohibit, or restrict the use of a contingent fee in
connection with tax returns, claims for refund, or documents in
connection with tax returns or claims for refund prepared on behalf of
a taxpayer.
(e) Public Database for Tax Return Preparers.--Not later than 1
year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the
Treasury, shall ensure that the name and identification number (as
described in section 6109(a)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986)
of any tax return preparer who satisfies the requirements under section
330 of title 31, United States Code, is made publicly available through
such measures as are determined appropriate by the Secretary, which may
include the use of any publicly available database that has been
established and operated by the Secretary on or before the date of the
enactment of this Act.
A:
Tax Return Preparer Competency Act of 2015 This bill grants the Department of the Treasury authority to regulate the practice of tax return preparers and to sanction preparers for incompetency or misconduct. The bill also imposes minimum competency standards for tax return prepares and requires Treasury to make publicly available a databaseidentifying qualified tax return preparers.