Bill Text: TX HB2911 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Enrolled


Bill Title: Relating to the regulation of real estate inspectors; changing fees.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2013-06-14 - Effective on 9/1/13 [HB2911 Detail]

Download: Texas-2013-HB2911-Enrolled.html
 
 
  H.B. No. 2911
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  rel
  ating to the regulation of real estate inspectors; changing
  fees.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter C, Chapter 1102, Occupations Code, is
  amended by adding Section 1102.1051 to read as follows:
         Sec. 1102.1051.  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 2.  Section 1102.109, Occupations Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 1102.109.  ELIGIBILITY FOR PROFESSIONAL INSPECTOR
  LICENSE. To be eligible for a professional inspector license, an
  applicant must:
               (1)  at the time of application have:
                     (A)  held a real estate inspector license for at
  least 12 months; and
                     (B)  performed at least 175 real estate
  inspections under indirect supervision;
               (2)  submit evidence satisfactory to the commission of
  successful completion of at least 40 [30] classroom hours of core
  real estate inspection courses, in addition to the hours required
  by Section 1102.108[, and at least eight classroom hours related to
  the study of standards of practice, legal issues, or ethics related
  to the practice of real estate inspecting];
               (3)  demonstrate competence based on the examination
  under Subchapter D; and
               (4)  satisfy the commission as to the applicant's
  honesty, trustworthiness, integrity, and competence.
         SECTION 3.  Section 1102.110, Occupations Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 1102.110.  ELIGIBILITY OF PREVIOUS LICENSE HOLDERS.
  (a) Notwithstanding Section 1102.108, an applicant is eligible
  for and has satisfied all requirements for a real estate inspector
  license if the applicant:
               (1)  held a real estate inspector license during the
  24-month period preceding the date the application is filed;
               (2)  is sponsored by a professional inspector; [and]
               (3)  satisfies the commission as to the applicant's
  honesty, trustworthiness, and integrity; and
               (4)  submits evidence satisfactory to the commission of
  successful completion of not less than the number of hours of
  continuing education courses that would have been required for the
  applicant to renew the license described by Subdivision (1).
         (b)  Notwithstanding Section 1102.109, an applicant is
  eligible for and has satisfied all requirements for a professional
  inspector license if the applicant:
               (1)  held a professional inspector license during the
  24-month period preceding the date the application is filed; [and]
               (2)  satisfies the commission as to the applicant's
  honesty, trustworthiness, and integrity; and
               (3)  submits evidence satisfactory to the commission of
  successful completion of not less than the number of hours of
  continuing education courses that would have been required for the
  applicant to renew the license described by Subdivision (1).
         SECTION 4.  Section 1102.111(b), Occupations Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (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)  complete more than 40 hours of field work, if the
  applicant completes correspondence or other course provided by
  alternative means; or
               (3)  have more than seven years of relevant experience.
         SECTION 5.  Section 1102.114, Occupations Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 1102.114.  ISSUANCE OF LICENSE. The commission shall
  issue the appropriate license to an applicant who:
               (1)  meets the required qualifications;
               (2)  pays the fee required by Section 1102.352(a); and
               (3)  submits [offers] proof of financial
  responsibility as required by Section 1102.1141 [that the applicant
  carries liability insurance with a minimum limit of $100,000 per
  occurrence to protect the public against a violation of Subchapter
  G].
         SECTION 6.  Subchapter C, Chapter 1102, Occupations Code, is
  amended by adding Section 1102.1141 to read as follows:
         Sec. 1102.1141.  FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REQUIREMENT. (a)  
  An inspector must maintain financial responsibility in the form of:
               (1)  a liability insurance policy with a minimum limit
  of $100,000 per occurrence and an aggregate annual total of at least
  $100,000, and that:
                     (A)  is written by an insurer authorized to engage
  in the business of insurance in this state, a risk retention group
  as defined by Chapter 2201, Insurance Code, or an eligible surplus
  lines insurer, as defined by Section 981.002, Insurance Code; and
                     (B)  specifically provides for professional
  liability coverage to protect the public against a violation of
  Subchapter G; or
               (2)  a bond or other security accepted by the
  commission.
         (b)  A bond posted as security under Subsection (a)(2) must:
               (1)  be issued by a carrier admitted in this state;
               (2)  be in an amount not less than $100,000;
               (3)  be continuous; and
               (4)  be cancellable by the surety only after the surety
  has provided at least 90 days' written notice to the commission
  before the effective date of the cancellation.
         (c)  Any security provided under this section in a form other
  than a bond must be convertible to cash by the commission for the
  benefit of a person who contracts with an inspector in this state,
  without requiring approval of a court, if the commission determines
  that the inspector has violated Subchapter G. Any amount remaining
  after an inspector's license has expired shall be returned to the
  inspector not later than the 180th day after the date the license
  expires.
         (d)  An inspector who posts a bond or other security under
  this section must designate an unaffiliated third party to handle
  the processing of any claim regarding the bond or other security.
         SECTION 7.  Section 1102.118, Occupations Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 1102.118.  CONTACT INFORMATION [CHANGE OF ADDRESS].  
  (a) An inspector shall provide the commission with a current
  mailing address, telephone number, and, if available, e-mail
  address.
         (b)  Not later than the 30th day after the date of a change in
  the mailing address, telephone number, or e-mail address of an
  inspector [changes the inspector's place of business], the
  inspector shall notify the commission of the change and pay any
  [the] required fee.
         SECTION 8.  Section 1102.153, Occupations Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 1102.153.  DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION. A license
  applicant who does not satisfy the examination requirement before
  the first anniversary of [within six months after] the date the
  application is filed must submit a new application and pay another
  examination fee to be eligible for examination.
         SECTION 9.  Section 1102.155(b), Occupations Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (b)  An applicant who fails the examination three
  consecutive times [in connection with the same application] may not
  apply for reexamination or submit a new license application unless 
  [before six months] after the date of the third failed examination
  the applicant completes additional educational requirements as
  prescribed by the commission and submits evidence satisfactory to
  the commission of successful completion of those requirements.
         SECTION 10.  Section 1102.202, Occupations Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 1102.202.  NOTICE OF LICENSE EXPIRATION. Not later
  than the 31st day before the expiration date of a person's license,
  the commission shall provide notice of the expiration [send] to the
  person [at the person's last known address according to the
  commission's records written notice of the license expiration].
         SECTION 11.  Section 1102.203, Occupations Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 1102.203.  RENEWAL OF LICENSE; INFORMATION REQUIRED.
  (a) A person may renew an unexpired license by paying the required
  renewal fee to the commission before the expiration date of the
  license and providing proof of financial responsibility [liability
  insurance] as required by Section 1102.1141 [1102.114(3)].
         (a-1)  A person whose license has been expired for 90 days or
  less may renew the license by paying to the commission a fee equal
  to 1-1/2 times the required renewal fee.  If a license has been
  expired for more than 90 days but less than six months, the person
  may renew the license by paying to the commission a fee equal to two
  times the required renewal fee.
         (b)  If the person's license has been expired for six months
  or longer [expires], the person may not renew the license. The
  person may obtain a new license by submitting to reexamination, if
  required, and complying with the requirements and procedures for
  obtaining an original license.
         (c)  Each applicant for renewal of a license must disclose to
  the commission whether the applicant has:
               (1)  entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to a
  felony; or
               (2)  been convicted of a felony and the time for appeal
  has elapsed or the judgment or conviction has been affirmed on
  appeal.
         (d)  The disclosure under Subsection (c) must be provided
  even if an order has granted community supervision suspending the
  imposition of the sentence.
         SECTION 12.  Section 1102.402(c), Occupations Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (c)  A person is not eligible for a license until the person
  has reimbursed the commission [repaid] in full for any [the] amount
  paid on the person's behalf from the real estate inspection
  recovery fund or the real estate recovery trust account under
  Subchapter M, Chapter 1101 [on the person's account], plus interest
  at the legal rate.
         SECTION 13.  Sections 1102.252 and 1102.253, Occupations
  Code, are repealed.
         SECTION 14.  (a)  Sections 1102.1051 and 1102.1141,
  Occupations Code, as added by this Act, and Sections 1102.109,
  1102.110, 1102.111, 1102.114, 1102.153, 1102.155, and 1102.402,
  Occupations Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to an
  application for an inspector license submitted to the Texas Real
  Estate Commission on or after the effective date of this Act. An
  application for a license submitted before that date is governed by
  the law in effect on the date the application was submitted, and the
  former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         (b)  Sections 1102.203 and 1102.402, Occupations Code, as
  amended by this Act, and Sections 1102.1051 and 1102.1141,
  Occupations Code, as added by this Act, apply only to the renewal of
  an inspector license that expires on or after the effective date of
  this Act. A license that expires before that date is governed by
  the law in effect on the date the license expires, and the former
  law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 15.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 2911 was passed by the House on April
  25, 2013, by the following vote:  Yeas 112, Nays 19, 2 present, not
  voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
  No. 2911 on May 22, 2013, by the following vote:  Yeas 116, Nays 29,
  2 present, not voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 2911 was passed by the Senate, with
  amendments, on May 20, 2013, by the following vote:  Yeas 27, Nays
  4.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate   
  APPROVED: __________________
                  Date       
   
           __________________
                Governor       
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