(a) The board may suspend or revoke a license, certification,
authorization or registration issued under provisions of this Act
or deny issuing a license, certification, authorization or registration
to an applicant at any time when it has been determined that the person
applying for or holding the license, certification, authorization,
or registration:
(1) disregards or violates a provision of the Act or
of the Rules of the Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board;
(2) is convicted of a felony;
(3) fails to notify the board not later than the 30th
day after the date of the final conviction if the person, in a court
of this or another state or in a federal court, has been convicted
of or entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to a felony or a
criminal offense involving fraud or moral turpitude;
(4) fails to notify the board not later than the 30th
day after the date of incarceration if the person, in this or another
state, has been incarcerated for a criminal offense involving fraud
or moral turpitude;
(5) fails to notify the board not later than the 30th
day after the date disciplinary action becomes final against the person
with regard to any occupational license the person holds in Texas
or any other jurisdiction;
(6) fails to comply with the Uniform Standards of Professional
Appraisal Practice (USPAP) in effect at the time of the appraisal
or appraisal practice;
(7) acts or holds himself or herself or any other person
out as a licensed or certified real estate appraiser under the Act
when not so licensed or certified;
(8) accepts payment for appraiser services but fails
to deliver the agreed service in the agreed upon manner;
(9) refuses to refund payment received for appraiser
services when he or she has failed to deliver the appraiser service
in the agreed upon manner;
(10) accepts payment for services contingent upon a
minimum, maximum, or pre-agreed value estimate except when such action
would not interfere with the appraiser's obligation to provide an
independent and impartial opinion of value and full disclosure of
the contingency is made;
(11) offers to perform appraiser services or agrees
to perform such services when employment to perform such services
is contingent upon a minimum, maximum, or pre-agreed value estimate
except when such action would not interfere with the appraiser's obligation
to provide an independent and impartial opinion of value and full
disclosure of the contingency is made;
(12) makes a material misrepresentation or omission
of material fact;
(13) has had a license or certification as an appraiser
revoked, suspended, or otherwise acted against by any other jurisdiction
for an act which is an offense under Texas law;
(14) procures, or attempts to procure, a license, certification,
authorization, approval, or registration pursuant to the Act by making
false, misleading, or fraudulent representation;
(15) fails to actively, personally, and diligently
supervise an appraiser trainee under his or her sponsorship or any
person not licensed or certified under the Act who assists the licensee
or certificate holder in performing real estate appraiser services;
(16) has had a final civil judgment entered against
him or her on any one of the following grounds:
(A) fraud;
(B) intentional or knowing misrepresentation;
(C) grossly negligent misrepresentation in the making
of real estate appraiser services;
(17) fails to make good on a payment issued to the
board within thirty days after the board has mailed a request for
payment by certified mail to the licensee's last known business address
as reflected by the board's records;
(18) knowingly or willfully engages in false or misleading
conduct or advertising with respect to client solicitation;
(19) acts or holds himself or any other person out
as a licensed or certified real estate appraiser under this or another
state's Act when not so licensed or certified;
(20) misuses or misrepresents the type of classification
or category of licensure, certification, approval, or registration,
or the license, certification, approval, or registration number;
(21) engages in any other act relating to the business
or appraising that the board, in its discretion, believes warrants
a suspension or revocation;
(22) uses any title, designation, initial or other
insignia or identification that would mislead the public as to that
person's credentials, qualifications, competency, or ability to perform
certified or licensed appraisal services;
(23) fails to comply with a final order of the board;
(24) fails to answer all inquiries concerning matters
under the jurisdiction of the board within 20 days of notice to said
individual's address of record, or within the time period allowed
if granted a written extension by the board; or
(25) after conducting reasonable due diligence, knowingly
accepts an assignment from an appraisal management company that is
not exempt from registration under the Act which:
(A) has not registered with the board; or
(B) is registered with the board but has not placed
the appraiser on its panel of appraisers maintained with the board.
(b) The board has discretion in determining the appropriate
penalty for any violation under subsection (a) of this section.
(c) The board may probate a penalty or sanction, and
may impose conditions of the probation, including, but not limited
to:
(1) the type and scope of appraisals or appraisal practice;
(2) the number of appraiser trainees or authority to
sponsor appraiser trainees;
(3) requirements for additional education;
(4) monetary administrative penalties; and
(5) requirements for reporting real property appraisal
activity to the board.
(d) A person applying for reinstatement after revocation
or surrender of a license or certification must comply with all requirements
that would apply if the license or certification had instead expired.
(e) The provisions of this section do not relieve a
person from civil liability or from criminal prosecution under the
Act or under the laws of this State.
(f) The board may not investigate under this section
a complaint submitted either more than two years after the date of
discovery or more than two years after the completion of any litigation
involving the incident, whichever event occurs later, involving the
state licensed real estate appraiser, provisional licensed appraiser,
state certified real estate appraiser, or appraiser trainee who is
the subject of the complaint.
(g) Except as provided by Texas Government Code §402.031(b)
and Texas Penal Code §32.32(d), there shall be no undercover
or covert investigations conducted by authority of the Act.
(h) All board members, officers, directors, and employees
of this agency shall be held harmless with respect to any disclosures
made to the board in connection with any complaints filed with the
board.
(i) A license, certification, authorization or registration
may be revoked or suspended by the Attorney General or other court
of competent jurisdiction for failure to pay child support under provisions
of Chapter 232 of the Texas Family Code.
(j) A certified or licensed appraiser who files a complaint
against another certified or licensed appraiser that the board determines
to be frivolous is liable for a civil penalty. At the request of the
board, the attorney general or a district or county attorney may institute
a civil action in district court to collect a penalty under this subsection.
A civil penalty under this subsection may not be less than $500 or
more than $10,000. A civil penalty recovered in a suit instituted
under this subsection shall be deposited in the state treasury to
the credit of the general revenue fund.
(k) If the board determines that issuance of a probationary
license is appropriate, the order entered by the board with regard
to the application must set forth the terms and conditions for the
probationary license. Terms and conditions for a probationary license
may include any of the following:
(1) that the probationary licensee comply with the
Act and with the rules of the Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification
Board;
(2) that the probationary licensee fully cooperate
with the enforcement division of the Texas Appraiser Licensing and
Certification Board in the investigation of any complaint filed against
the licensee or any other complaint in which the licensee may have
relevant information;
Cont'd... |