1-1           By:  Sibley                                      S.B. No. 223

 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed January 16, 1997; January 21, 1997,

 1-3     read first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs;

 1-4     January 29, 1997, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas

 1-5     13, Nays 0; January 29, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-7                                   AN ACT

 1-8     relating to continuing education requirements for real estate

 1-9     brokers and salesmen.

1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-11           SECTION 1.  Subsection (a), Section 7A, The Real Estate

1-12     License Act (Article 6573a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is

1-13     amended to read as follows:

1-14           (a)  To renew an active real estate broker license or an

1-15     active real estate salesman license that is not subject to the

1-16     annual education requirements of this Act, the licensee must

1-17     provide the commission proof of attendance at at least 15 classroom

1-18     hours of continuing education courses approved by the commission

1-19     during the term of the current license.  The commission by rule may

1-20     provide for the substitution of relevant educational experience or

1-21     correspondence courses approved by the commission instead of

1-22     classroom attendance.  In addition, supervised video instruction

1-23     may be approved by the commission as a course counting as classroom

1-24     hours of mandatory continuing education.  At least six hours of

1-25     instruction must be devoted to the rules of the commission, fair

1-26     housing laws, landlord-tenant law and other Property Code issues,

1-27     agency laws, antitrust laws, the Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer

1-28     Protection Act (Subchapter E, Chapter 17, Business & Commerce

1-29     Code), disclosures to buyers, landlords, tenants, and sellers,

1-30     current contract and addendum forms, the unauthorized practice of

1-31     law, case studies involving violations of laws and regulations,

1-32     current Federal Housing Administration and Department of Veterans

1-33     Affairs regulations, tax laws, property tax consulting laws and

1-34     legal issues, or other legal topics approved by the commission.

1-35     The remaining hours may be devoted to other real estate-related

1-36     topics approved by the commission.  The commission may consider

1-37     equivalent courses for continuing education credit.  Property tax

1-38     consulting laws and legal issues include but are not limited to the

1-39     Tax Code, preparation of property tax reports, the unauthorized

1-40     practice of law, agency laws, tax laws, laws concerning property

1-41     taxes or assessments, deceptive trade practices, contract forms and

1-42     addendum, and other legal topics approved by the commission.  Real

1-43     estate related courses approved by the State Bar of Texas for

1-44     minimum continuing legal education participatory credit and core

1-45     real estate courses under Section 7(a) of this Act shall

1-46     automatically be approved as mandatory continuing education courses

1-47     under this Act.  The commission may not require examinations except

1-48     for correspondence courses or courses offered by alternative

1-49     delivery systems such as computers.  Daily classroom course

1-50     segments must be at least one hour [three hours] long but not more

1-51     than 10 hours long.

1-52           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

1-53           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-54     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-55     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-56     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-57     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

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