Texas Register

TITLE 22 EXAMINING BOARDS
PART 8TEXAS APPRAISER LICENSING AND CERTIFICATION BOARD
CHAPTER 159RULES RELATING TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE TEXAS APPRAISAL MANAGEMENT COMPANY REGISTRATION AND REGULATION ACT
RULE §159.204Complaint Processing
ISSUE 09/02/2011
ACTION Proposed
Preamble Texas Admin Code Rule

A complaint must be in writing and must be signed by the complainant. Board staff may initiate a complaint.

  (1)Upon receipt of a complaint, staff shall:

    (A)assign the complaint a case number in the complaint tracking system; and

    (B)send written acknowledgement of receipt to the complainant.

  (2)If the staff determines at any time that the complaint is not within the Board's jurisdiction or that no violation exists, the complaint shall then be dismissed with no further processing. The Board or the commissioner may delegate to Board staff the duty to dismiss complaints.

  (3)A complaint alleging mortgage fraud or in which mortgage fraud is suspected:

    (A)may be investigated covertly; and

    (B)shall be referred to the appropriate prosecutorial authorities.

  (4)Staff may request additional information necessary to proceed with the complaint.

  (5)A copy of the complaint and all supporting documentation shall be sent to the respondent unless the complaint qualifies for covert investigation and the Standards and Enforcement Services Division deems covert investigation appropriate.

  (6)The respondent shall submit a response within 20 days of receiving a copy of the complaint. The 20-day period may be extended for good cause upon request in writing or by e-mail.

    (A)The response shall include the following:

      (i)a narrative response to the complaint, addressing each and every element thereof;

      (ii)a copy of all requested records and any other relevant records;

      (iii)a list of any and all persons known to the respondent to have actual knowledge of any of the matters made the subject of the complaint and, if in the respondent's possession, contact information; and

      (iv)the following statement in the letter transmitting the response: EXCEPT AS SPECIFICALLY SET FORTH HEREIN, THE COPY OF EACH AND EVERY APPRAISAL WORK FILE ACCOMPANYING THIS RESPONSE IS A TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF THE ACTUAL WORK FILE, AND NOTHING HAS BEEN ADDED TO OR REMOVED FROM THIS WORK FILE OR ALTERED AFTER PLACEMENT IN THE WORK FILE.

    (B)Any supporting documentation that was not in the work file must be conspicuously labeled as such and kept separate from the work file.

    (C)The respondent may also address other matters not raised in the complaint that the respondent believes likely to be raised and may be supported by documentation contained in the work file.

  (7)The complaint shall be assigned to a staff investigator and shall be investigated by the staff investigator or peer investigative committee, as appropriate.

  (8)The staff investigator or peer investigative committee assigned to investigate a complaint shall prepare a report detailing its findings on a form approved by the Board for that purpose. Reports prepared by a peer investigative committee shall be reviewed by the Standards and Enforcement Services Division, which shall determine the appropriate disposition of the complaint.

  (9)Agreed resolutions of complaint matters must be signed by the respondent, a representative of the Standards and Enforcement Services Division, and the commissioner.

This agency hereby certifies that the proposal has been reviewed by legal counsel and found to be within the agency's legal authority to adopt.

Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on August 22, 2011

TRD-201103388

Devon V. Bijansky

General Counsel

Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board

Earliest possible date of adoption: October 2, 2011

For further information, please call: (512) 936-3652



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