89R12407 RAL-F
By: Darby H.B. No. 3250
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.