You asked (1) for a summary of the law establishing continuing education requirement (CE) for appraisers, (2) how the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) is enforcing it, (3) for the Real Estate Appraisal Commission's disciplinary powers and process, (4) how credential holders may appeal final adverse decisions, and (5) for the penalty on a real estate appraiser who works without a required credential.

SUMMARY

State law requires certified and licensed real estate appraisers to complete continuing education courses and to demonstrate compliance by submitting proof each even-year renewal. Implementing regulations specify the number of hours that must be successfully completed and set standards for the courses. They must include components on state real estate appraisal law and on national standards.

For the May 2006 renewal, DCP audited compliance with the CE requirements. It is allowing credential holders who have not met the requirements to pay a fine based on the number of missed credit hours and the type of credential held.

The law authorizes the Real Estate Appraisal Commission to impose a wide variety of penalties, ranging from a letter of reprimand to a fine of up to $ 1,000. The commission must follow the same disciplinary process followed by all boards and commissions within DCP. The process requires the agency to give notice, provide an opportunity to show compliance, hold formal hearings before imposing an adverse penalty, and gives the subject of the discipline the right to appeal final administrative decisions to superior court.

The penalty for working as a real estate appraiser without a required credential is a fine of up to $ 1,000, six months imprisonment, or both.

CONTINUING EDUCATION REQUIREMENT

Statutory Requirement

The law requires certified or licensed real estate appraisers to meet CE requirements. It requires renewal applicants to submit proof of compliance with each even-year renewal, together with an $ 8 processing fee (CGS § 20-517(c)). The requirement is met by successfully completing the number of hours of classroom study required by the Real Estate Appraisal Commission or the Appraiser Qualification Board of the Appraisal Foundation (CGS § 20-517(d)). The foundation is a nonprofit education organization dedicated to the advancement of the appraisal profession.

The law requires the consumer protection commissioner to adopt regulations concerning continuing education school approval and course content. They may include alternative ways to meet the requirements and establish health or hardship exemptions (CGS § 20-517(f)).

Implementing Regulations

DCP regulations specify CE requirements (Regs. Conn. State Agencies § 20-504-7). Renewal applicants must successfully complete 28 classroom hours in approved courses every two years, including a three-hour course in current real estate appraisal law, and seven on the national Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP). USPAP constitutes the generally accepted standards for professional appraisal practice in North America. They are written by the Appraisal Standards Board, an independent board of the Appraisal Foundation. DCP regulations allow the commission to approve equivalent continuing education in lieu of the CE requirement.

Appeal

Real estate appraisal regulations require the commission to give notice and an opportunity for a hearing before imposing any penalty (Regs. Conn. State Agencies § 20-504-12). The hearing must be held in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedure Act (UAPA).

2006 AUDIT OF CE REQUIREMENTS

The last renewal date was May 1, 2006. As a part of it, DCP audited CE compliance. Real estate appraisers who did not meet the requirements were asked to pay a fine, imposed at a rate of $ 100 per missing credit hour for certified real estate appraisers and $ 50 per missing credit hour for provisional real estate appraisers. Appraisers have been given an opportunity to show that they had good cause to fail to meet CE requirements and several opportunities to pay the fine instead of losing their credentials.

DCP is preparing a report on the audit for the Real Estate Appraisal Commission and will present it at the commission's December 13, 2006 meeting. We will forward the report to you as soon as we receive it. It may include the number of appraisers audited for continuing education compliance, the number fined, and the number whose licenses were not renewed because the appraiser neither met the requirement nor paid the fine.

DISCIPLINARY POWERS

The law authorizes the Real Estate Appraisal Commission to discipline licensees by suspending or revoking their certificate or license or by imposing a fine of up to $ 1,000 for a first offense. It may do so for, among other things, violating any provision of the license statute or implementing regulations (CGS § 20-518).

The law also authorizes all boards and commissions within DCP to (1) revoke or suspend a license, registration, or certificate; (2) issue a reprimand; (3) place a person on probation and require regular reporting; (4) limit a person's practice to prescribed areas, or (5) require continued or renewed education, for the following reasons:

DISCIPLINARY PROCESS

DCP regulations establish a hearing procedure used by all of the regulatory boards and commissions within it (Regs. Conn. State Agencies §§ 21a-9-1 through 21a-9-11). They require DCP, before beginning proceedings, to give a credential holder an opportunity to show compliance with the law. The notice of the opportunity must include, among other things, a clear and concise factual statement that informs the respondent of the alleged violations. It may ask the respondent to attend a compliance meeting, which is informal and in which the rules of evidence do not apply.

Before taking any action and when it has reason to believe that a violation has taken place, DCP must send a complaint to the respondent. The notice must state, among other things, the statutory authority for beginning the action, the specific law alleged to be violated, the acts or practices alleged to be in violation, and that the respondent may be represented by an attorney. Further, the regulations establish procedures and grounds for scheduling and holding the hearing.

They allow DCP to informally dispose of any contested case by stipulation, agreed settlement, or consent. A consent agreement must include, among other things, an admission of facts, a waiver of the right to judicial review, and a waiver of the requirement that the decision include findings of fact and conclusion of law.

A final decision in a contested case may be made only after due consideration by the commission of the entire record.

APPEAL

The law authorizes a real estate appraiser to appeal an adverse licensing decision in the same way that it authorizes an individual licensed in another profession to appeal adverse decisions (CGS § 20-520). Specifically, an adverse decision may be appealed to Superior Court according to the UAPA. It authorizes someone who has exhausted all administrative remedies and who is aggrieved by an agency's final decision top appeal to superior court (CGS § 4-183). The act establishes a deadline for appealing, notice requirements, and other related judicial procedures for considering the appeal.

WORKING WITHOUT A REQUIRED LICENSE OR CERTIFICATE

The law subjects anyone who engages in real estate appraising without a required license or certificate to a fine of up to $ 1,000, six months imprisonment, or both. It also makes a violator ineligible to obtain a license or certificate for one year from conviction date. The law also restricts the use of the following titles to license or certificate holders: “real estate appraiser,” “real estate appraising,” “certified appraiser,” “certified appraisal,” “residential appraiser,” “limited license appraiser,” “provisional appraiser,” and “provisional appraising,” and similar terms or abbreviations to certificate or license holders. Anyone violating the restriction is subject to a fine of up to $ 1,000, six months imprisonment, or both (CGS § 20-523).

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