H.B. No. 1530
 
AN ACT
relating to the regulation of the sale and inspection of real estate
and residential service contracts.
       BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
       SECTION 1.  Section 1101.005, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
       Sec. 1101.005.  APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER.  This chapter
does not apply to:
             (1)  an attorney licensed in any state;
             (2)  an attorney-in-fact authorized under a power of
attorney to conduct a real estate transaction;
             (3)  a public official while engaged in official
duties;
             (4)  an auctioneer licensed under Chapter 1802 while
conducting the sale of real estate by auction if the auctioneer does
not perform another act of a broker or salesperson;
             (5)  a person conducting a real estate transaction
[acting] under a court order or the authority of a will or written
trust instrument;
             (6)  a person employed by an owner in the sale of
structures and land on which structures are located if the
structures are erected by the owner in the course of the owner's
business;
             (7)  an on-site manager of an apartment complex;
             (8)  an owner or the owner's employee who leases the
owner's improved or unimproved real estate;
             (9)  a partnership or limited liability partnership
acting as a broker or salesperson through a partner who is a
licensed broker; or
             (10)  a transaction involving:
                   (A)  the sale, lease, or transfer of a mineral or
mining interest in real property;
                   (B)  the sale, lease, or transfer of a cemetery
lot;
                   (C)  the lease or management of a hotel or motel;
or
                   (D)  the sale of real property under a power of
sale conferred by a deed of trust or other contract lien.
       SECTION 2.  Section 1101.057(a), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
       (a)  It is a ground for removal from the commission that a
member:
             (1)  does not have at the time of appointment the
qualifications required by Section 1101.051(a) or (b) or 1101.052;
             (2)  does not maintain during service on the commission
the qualifications required by Section 1101.051(a) or (b) or
1101.052;
             (3)  violates a prohibition established by Section
1101.053;
             (4)  cannot[, because of illness or disability,]
discharge the member's duties for a substantial part of the member's
term; or
             (5)  is absent from more than half of the regularly
scheduled commission meetings that the member is eligible to attend
during each calendar year, unless the absence is excused by
majority vote of the commission.
       SECTION 3.  Section 1101.152(a), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
       (a)  The commission shall adopt rules to charge and collect
reasonable fees, including a fee for [the following fees]:
             (1)  [for] filing an original application for a broker
license[, not more than $100];
             (2)  [for] annual renewal of a broker license[, not
more than $100];
             (3)  [for] filing an original application for a
salesperson license[, not more than $75];
             (4)  [for] annual renewal of a salesperson license[,
not more than $50];
             (5)  [for] annual registration[, $80];
             (6)  filing [for] an application for a license
examination[, not more than $100];
             (7)  [for] filing a request for a branch office
license[, not more than $20];
             (8)  [for] filing a request for a change of place of
business, change of name, return to active status, or change of
sponsoring broker[, not more than $20];
             (9)  [for] filing a request to replace a lost or
destroyed license or certificate of registration[, not more than
$20];
             (10)  [for] filing an application for approval of an
education program under Subchapter G[, not more than $400];
             (11)  [for] annual operation of an education program
under Subchapter G[, not more than $200];
             (12)  [for] filing an application for approval of an
instructor of core real estate courses[, not more than $40];
             (13)  [for] transcript evaluation[, $20];
             (14)  [for] preparing a license or registration
history[, not more than $20]; [and]
             (15)  [for] filing an application for a moral character
determination; and
             (16)  conducting a criminal history check for issuing
or renewing a license[, not more than $50].
       SECTION 4.  Section 1101.302(b), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
       (b)  An educational institution shall maintain a corporate
surety bond or other security acceptable to the commission that is:
             (1)  in the amount of $20,000 [$10,000];
             (2)  payable to the commission; and
             (3)  for the benefit of a party who suffers damages
caused by the failure of the institution to fulfill obligations
related to the commission's approval.
       SECTION 5.  Subchapter H, Chapter 1101, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Section 1101.3521 to read as follows:
       Sec. 1101.3521.  CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD INFORMATION
REQUIREMENT FOR LICENSE. (a) The commission shall require that an
applicant for a license or renewal of an unexpired license submit a
complete and legible set of fingerprints, on a form prescribed by
the commission, to the commission or to the Department of Public
Safety for the purpose of obtaining criminal history record
information from the Department of Public Safety and the Federal
Bureau of Investigation.
       (b)  The commission shall refuse to issue a license to or
renew the license of a person who does not comply with the
requirement of Subsection (a).
       (c)  The commission shall conduct a criminal history check of
each applicant for a license or renewal of a license using
information:
             (1)  provided by the individual under this section; and
             (2)  made available to the commission by the Department
of Public Safety, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and any
other criminal justice agency under Chapter 411, Government Code.
       (d)  The commission may:
             (1)  enter into an agreement with the Department of
Public Safety to administer a criminal history check required under
this section; and
             (2)  authorize the Department of Public Safety to
collect from each applicant the costs incurred by the department in
conducting the criminal history check.
       SECTION 6.  Section 1101.356(a), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
       (a)  An applicant for a broker license must provide to the
commission satisfactory evidence that the applicant:
             (1)  has had at least two years of active experience in
this state as a license holder during the 36 months preceding the
date the application is filed; and
             (2)  has successfully completed at least 60 semester
hours, or equivalent classroom hours, of postsecondary education,
including:
                   (A)  at least 18 semester hours or equivalent
classroom hours of core real estate courses, two semester hours of
which must be real estate brokerage; and
                   (B)  at least 42 hours of core real estate courses
or related courses accepted by the commission.
       SECTION 7.  Subchapter J, Chapter 1101, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Section 1101.4521 to read as follows:
       Sec. 1101.4521.  CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD INFORMATION FOR
RENEWAL. An applicant for the renewal of an unexpired license must
comply with the criminal history record check requirements of
Section 1101.3521.
       SECTION 8.  Section 1101.455, Occupations Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (k) to read as follows:
       (k)  Notwithstanding the number of hours required by
Subsection (e), a member of the legislature licensed under this
chapter is only required to complete three hours of continuing
education on the legal topics under Subsection (e).
       SECTION 9.  Section 1101.652(a), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
       (a)  The commission may suspend or revoke a license issued
under this chapter or take other disciplinary action authorized by
this chapter if the license holder:
             (1)  enters a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to or is
convicted of a felony in which fraud is an essential element, and
the time for appeal has elapsed or the judgment or conviction has
been affirmed on appeal, without regard to an order granting
community supervision that suspends the imposition of the sentence;
             (2)  procures or attempts to procure a license under
this chapter for the license holder or a salesperson by fraud,
misrepresentation, or deceit or by making a material misstatement
of fact in an application for a license;
             (3)  engages in misrepresentation, dishonesty, or
fraud when selling, buying, trading, or leasing real property in
the name of:
                   (A)  the license holder;
                   (B)  the license holder's spouse; or
                   (C)  a person related to the license holder within
the first degree by consanguinity;
             (4)  fails to honor, within a reasonable time, a check
issued to the commission after the commission has sent by certified
mail a request for payment to the license holder's last known
business address according to commission records;
             (5)  fails or refuses to produce on request, for
inspection by the commission or a commission representative, a
document, book, or record that is in the license holder's
possession and relates to a real estate transaction conducted by
the license holder;
             (6)  fails to provide, within a reasonable time,
information requested by the commission that relates to a formal or
informal complaint to the commission that would indicate a
violation of this chapter;
             (7)  fails to surrender to the owner, without just
cause, a document or instrument that is requested by the owner and
that is in the license holder's possession;
             (8)  fails to use a contract form required by the
commission under Section 1101.155;
             (9)  fails to notify the commission, not later than the
30th day after the date of a final conviction or the entry of a plea
of guilty or nolo contendere, that the person has been convicted of
or entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to a felony or a
criminal offense involving fraud; or
             (10)  disregards or violates this chapter.
       SECTION 10.  Section 1101.655(a), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
       (a)  The commission may revoke a license, approval, or
[certificate of] registration issued under this chapter or Chapter
1102 if the commission makes a payment from the real estate recovery
trust account to satisfy all or part of a judgment against the
license or registration [certificate] holder.
       SECTION 11.  Section 1102.111, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
       Sec. 1102.111.  SUBSTITUTE REQUIREMENTS.  (a)  The
commission by rule shall provide for substitution of relevant
experience and [or] additional education in place of:
             (1)  the number of real estate inspections required for
licensing; and
             (2)  the requirement that an applicant be:
                   (A)  licensed as an apprentice inspector before
being licensed as a real estate inspector; or
                   (B)  licensed as a real estate inspector before
being licensed as a professional inspector.
       (b)  Rules adopted under Subsection (a) may not require an
applicant to:
             (1)  complete more than 320 additional classroom hours
of core real estate inspection courses; or
             (2)  have more than seven years of relevant experience.
       SECTION 12.  Sections 1102.402(a) and (c), Occupations Code,
are amended to read as follows:
       (a)  The commission may revoke a [the] license issued under
this chapter or a license, approval, or registration issued under
Chapter 1101 [of an inspector] if the commission makes a payment
from the real estate inspection recovery fund to satisfy all or part
of a judgment against the person issued the license, approval, or
registration [inspector].
       (c)  A person [whose license is revoked under this section]
is not eligible for a [new] license until the person has repaid in
full the amount paid from the fund on the person's account, plus
interest at the legal rate.
       SECTION 13.  Section 1303.302, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
       Sec. 1303.302.  CERTAIN CONDITIONAL SALES OF PROPERTY
PROHIBITED.  (a)  A seller of a residential property or the buyer's
or seller's agent may not condition the sale of the property on the
buyer's purchase of a residential service contract.
       (b)  A seller of a residential property or the buyer's or
seller's agent shall provide to the buyer a statement that clearly
and conspicuously states that:
             (1)  the purchase of a residential service contract is
optional; and
             (2)  the buyer may purchase similar coverage through
another residential service company or insurance company
authorized to engage in business in this state.
       SECTION 14.  Sections 1102.1035 and 1102.2051, Occupations
Code, are repealed.
       SECTION 15.  Not later than January 1, 2008, an educational
institution that maintains a bond under Section 1101.302(b),
Occupations Code, on the effective date of this Act shall obtain a
bond in the amount required by Section 1101.302(b), Occupations
Code, as amended by this Act.
       SECTION 16.  Not later than January 1, 2008, the Texas Real
Estate Commission shall adopt rules as required by Section
1101.152, Occupations Code, as amended by this Act.
       SECTION 17.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act to
Section 1101.356(a), Occupations Code, applies only to a license
application filed on or after January 1, 2008. A license
application filed before that date is covered by the law in effect
at the time the application was filed, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
       (b)  The requirement that a person applying for or renewing a
license under Chapter 1101, Occupations Code, must submit to a
criminal history check under Sections 1101.3521 and 1101.4521,
Occupations Code, as added by this Act, applies only to an
application filed on or after January 1, 2008.
       SECTION 18.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2007.
____________________________________________________________
   President of the SenateSpeaker of the House      
       I certify that H.B. No. 1530 was passed by the House on April
13, 2007, by the following vote:  Yeas 143, Nays 0, 2 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 1530 on May 18, 2007, by the following vote:  Yeas 144, Nays 0,
2 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House   
       I certify that H.B. No. 1530 was passed by the Senate, with
       I certify that H.B. No. 1530 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 15, 2007, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays
0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate   
APPROVED: __________________
APPROVED: __________________
                Date       
 
 
         __________________
              Governor