bill creating a stipend program for appraiser trainees

The text as introduced · 1,190 words

89R12407 RAL-F

By: Menéndez
S.B. No. 1735

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the regulation of real estate appraisers and appraisal

management companies.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 1103, Occupations Code, is

amended by adding Section 1103.164 to read as follows:

Sec. 1103.164. STIPEND PROGRAM. (a) The board shall

establish a program to provide stipends to appraiser trainees and

certified appraisers who serve as supervisory appraisers for the

following public purposes:

(1) promoting the professional needs of this state;

(2) increasing the number of highly trained and

educated appraisers available to serve the residents of this state;

and

(3) improving the business environment of and

encouraging economic development in this state.

(b) In awarding stipends under this section, the board shall

consider the financial need of each person who applies for a stipend

under this section.

(c) The board may use only gifts, grants, and donations

received under Section 1103.157 to fund the stipend program under

this section.

(d) The board shall adopt rules necessary to implement this

section, including rules establishing the amount of a stipend

awarded under this section.

SECTION 2. Section 1103.203(d), Occupations Code, is

amended to read as follows:

(d) The application must include the applicant's current

mailing address , business address, and business telephone number

and the applicant's business e-mail address, if available. The

applicant shall notify the board of any change in the applicant's

mailing or e-mail address or telephone number while the application

is pending.

SECTION 3. Section 1104.104(b), Occupations Code, is

amended to read as follows:

(b) The controlling person designated under Subsection (a):

(1) must:

(A) be licensed or certified as an appraiser in

at least one state at all times during the designation; or

(B) have completed:

(i) the 15-hour national Uniform Standards

of Professional Appraisal Practice course; and

(ii) the seven-hour national Uniform

Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice update course not more

than two years before the renewal of the appraisal management

company's registration;

(2) may not have had a license or certificate to act as

an appraiser denied, revoked, or surrendered in lieu of revocation

in any state unless:

(A) the person has subsequently had the license

or certificate to act as an appraiser granted or reinstated; and

(B) the license or certificate to act as an

appraiser was denied, revoked, or surrendered for a nonsubstantive

reason as determined by the board; and

(3) shall submit to a background investigation, as

determined by the board.

SECTION 4. The heading to Section 1104.151, Occupations

Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 1104.151. RESTRICTIONS ON EMPLOYMENT AND CONTROLLING

PERSON [ OF CERTAIN PERSONS PROHIBITED ].

SECTION 5. Section 1104.151(a), Occupations Code, is

amended to read as follows:

(a) An appraisal management company registered under this

chapter may not knowingly:

(1) employ a person in a position in which the person

has the responsibility to order appraisals or to review completed

appraisals if the person has had a license or certificate to act as

an appraiser denied, revoked, or surrendered in lieu of revocation

in any state;

(2) enter into any independent contractor arrangement

for the provision of appraisals or appraisal management services

with any person who has had a license or certificate to act as an

appraiser denied, revoked, or surrendered in lieu of revocation in

any state; [ or ]

(3) enter into any contract, agreement, or other

business relationship for the provision of appraisals or appraisal

management services with any entity that employs, has entered into

an independent contract arrangement, or has entered into any

contract, agreement, or other business relationship with any person

who has ever had a license or certificate to act as an appraiser

denied, revoked, or surrendered in lieu of revocation in any state ;

or

(4) have, as a controlling person, a person who has had

a license or certificate as an appraiser or a registration as an

appraisal management company suspended, revoked, or put on

probation in any state .

SECTION 6. Section 1104.202(d), Occupations Code, is

amended to read as follows:

(d) Notwithstanding any other law, the board shall remit an

administrative penalty collected under this section to the

comptroller for deposit in the general revenue fund [ an

administrative penalty collected under this section must be

deposited in a restricted fund maintained and operated by the board

to develop educational programs for appraisers or to conduct

studies that enhance consumer protection ].

SECTION 7. Sections 1104.205(b) and (c), Occupations Code,

are amended to read as follows:

(b) An investigator designated by the presiding officer of

the board or the executive director [ commissioner ] shall

investigate each allegation in a complaint to determine whether

probable cause exists for a hearing on the complaint.

(c) If the board determines that a complaint does not

present facts that are grounds for disciplinary action, the board

or the executive director [ commissioner ] shall dismiss the

complaint and may not take further action.

SECTION 8. Section 1104.208(b), Occupations Code, is

amended to read as follows:

(b) The board by rule may delegate any of its authority

under Subsection (a) to the executive director [ commissioner ].

SECTION 9. Section 1104.2081(b), Occupations Code, is

amended to read as follows:

(b) An agreed order must be:

(1) approved by the board; and

(2) signed by the executive director [ commissioner ]

and the appraisal management company or other person who is the

subject of the complaint.

SECTION 10. Section 1103.203, Occupations Code, as amended

by this Act, applies only to an application for a certificate or

license or renewal of a certificate or license submitted on or after

the effective date of this Act. An application submitted before the

effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the

date the application was submitted, and the former law is continued

in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 11. Section 1104.151(a), Occupations Code, as

amended by this Act, applies only to conduct that occurs on or after

the effective date of this Act. Conduct that occurs before the

effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the

date the conduct occurred, and the former law is continued in effect

for that purpose.

SECTION 12. Section 1104.202(d), Occupations Code, as

amended by this Act, applies only to an administrative penalty that

is collected on or after the effective date of this Act. An

administrative penalty collected before the effective date of this

Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the penalty was

collected, and the former law is continued in effect for that

purpose.

SECTION 13. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of

this section, this Act takes effect September 1, 2025.

(b) Section 1103.164, Occupations Code, as added by this

Act, takes effect immediately if this Act receives a vote of

two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by

Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not

receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, that section takes

effect September 1, 2025.