Pursuant to Hawaii Revised Statutes (“HRS”) section 114-7 and chapter 91, notice is hereby given that the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs will hold a public hearing on Friday, December 5, 2008 at 9:00 a.m., in the Prince Leleiohoku Conference Room, Third Floor, King Kalakaua Building, Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, 335 Merchant Street, Honolulu, Hawaii, to hear all persons interested in the proposed amendments to Hawaii Administrative Rules (“HAR”) chapter 16-114 pertaining to real estate appraisers.
The purposes of the proposed amendments are to: (1) implement the most recent changes recommended by the Appraisal Qualifications Board (AQB) to the Real Property Appraiser Qualification Criteria which include a college degree requirement for certain license levels and additional appraiser education requirements; (2) amend the definitions of “appraisal or appraisal report”, “appraiser assistant”, “bona fide employee”, and “regulated institution or federal financial institution”; (3) allow applicants to submit online qualifying education to fulfill the appraiser education requirement; (4) clarify that the course and course providers are required to be endorsed by the AQB’s Course Approval Program; (5) clarify that 100 percent class attendance is one of the requirements to complete a course; (6) clarify that the national Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) course is valid for one calendar year; (7) clarify that courses may be disapproved if proctor requirements are not met; (8) clarify that course approval may be withdrawn if the course provider’s policies and procedures are not followed; (9) create a new section which requires the course provider to have in place policies and procedures for proctors of course exams; (10) delete the notarization requirement on the experience verification; (11) clarify that the two year experience requirement is twenty four months and not two calendar years; (12) clarify that a “review” appraisal must be a technical review and real estate “consulting” is acceptable as appraisal experience; (13) clarify that applicants must successfully complete the education requirement prior to applying for the examination; (14) add language that states that a passing exam score is only valid for twenty four months; (15) create a new section which allows the Department to grant licensure to current licensure holders in other jurisdictions; (16) clarify the license upgrade requirements; (17) clarify that original continuing education documents are required for license renewal; (18) amend the number of continuing education hours required; (19) clarify that USPAP education must be taught by a AQB certified instructor; (20) clarify that non student continuing education credit is limited to half of the required continuing education hours; (21) clarify that the reactivation requirements also include that the licensee must complete the seven hour national USPAP course and all the continuing education that would have been required had the license been active; (22) Clarify that only certified appraisers are allowed to supervise trainees, and limits the maximum number of trainees to three at a time; (23) clarify that the appraiser must have a current license in another state to qualify for a temporary license; (24) amend the temporary license requirements by deleting the requirement to submit a copy of the contract for appraisal services; (25) clarify that licensed appraisers are not permitted to supervise appraiser assistants and thus cannot sign appraiser reports on their behalf; and (26) clarify that the reinstatement of a suspended license requires the applicant to complete the seven hour national USPAP course and all the continuing education that would have been required had the license been active.
All interested persons shall be afforded the opportunity to submit data, views, or arguments, orally or in writing, at the time of hearing. All persons wishing to submit written testimony are requested to submit 10 copies of their written testimony by Wednesday, November 26, 2008, to the Professional and Vocational Licensing Division at the address printed below.
A copy of the proposed rules will be mailed to any person who requests a copy upon receipt of $6.69 for the copy and postage. Please submit your request to the Professional and Vocational Licensing Division at the address noted below or contact the Board’s office at (808) 586-2701.
Copies may be picked up at the following address between 7:45 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays: Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Professional and Vocational Licensing Division, 335 Merchant Street, Room 329, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813. The cost of a copy, $4.50, is due and payable at the time of pick up.
Further, the proposed rules may be reviewed in person free of charge at the Professional and Vocational Licensing Division at the address and hours of operation printed above. In addition, the full text of the proposed rules is available and can be downloaded free of charge from the web site of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs: http://www.hawaii.gov/dcca/main/har/proposed_har.
Individuals who require special needs accommodations are invited to call Alan Taniguchi at (808) 586-2701 at least four (4) working days prior to the hearing.