By Brimer                                        H.B. No. 692

      75R2209 JMM-F                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to continuing education requirements for real estate

 1-3     brokers and salesmen.

 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 7A(a), The Real Estate License Act

 1-6     (Article 6573a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read

 1-7     as follows:

 1-8           (a)  To renew an active real estate broker license or an

 1-9     active real estate salesman license that is not subject to the

1-10     annual education requirements of this Act, the licensee must

1-11     provide the commission proof of attendance at at least 15 classroom

1-12     hours of continuing education courses approved by the commission

1-13     during the term of the current license.  The commission by rule may

1-14     provide for the substitution of relevant educational experience or

1-15     correspondence courses approved by the commission instead of

1-16     classroom attendance.  In addition, supervised video instruction

1-17     may be approved by the commission as a course counting as classroom

1-18     hours of mandatory continuing education.  At least six hours of

1-19     instruction must be devoted to the rules of the commission, fair

1-20     housing laws, landlord-tenant law and other Property Code issues,

1-21     agency laws, antitrust laws, the Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer

1-22     Protection Act (Subchapter E, Chapter 17, Business & Commerce

1-23     Code), disclosures to buyers, landlords, tenants, and sellers,

1-24     current contract and addendum forms, the unauthorized practice of

 2-1     law, case studies involving violations of laws and regulations,

 2-2     current Federal Housing Administration and Department of Veterans

 2-3     Affairs regulations, tax laws, property tax consulting laws and

 2-4     legal issues, or other legal topics approved by the commission.

 2-5     The remaining hours may be devoted to other real estate-related

 2-6     topics approved by the commission.  The commission may consider

 2-7     equivalent courses for continuing education credit.  Property tax

 2-8     consulting laws and legal issues include but are not limited to the

 2-9     Tax Code, preparation of property tax reports, the unauthorized

2-10     practice of law, agency laws, tax laws, laws concerning property

2-11     taxes or assessments, deceptive trade practices, contract forms and

2-12     addendum, and other legal topics approved by the commission.  Real

2-13     estate related courses approved by the State Bar of Texas for

2-14     minimum continuing legal education participatory credit and core

2-15     real estate courses under Section 7(a) of this Act shall

2-16     automatically be approved as mandatory continuing education courses

2-17     under this Act.  The commission may not require examinations except

2-18     for correspondence courses or courses offered by alternative

2-19     delivery systems such as computers.  Daily classroom course

2-20     segments must be at least one hour [three hours] long but not more

2-21     than 10 hours long.

2-22           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

2-23           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-24     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-25     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-26     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-27     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.