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.
1-58 * * * * *