The Board met for its regular quarterly meeting on November 17th in Austin. The meeting was very productive. Members heard reports from the staff and all of its advisory committees, considered and decided several disciplinary cases, and adopted several rules that had been proposed in August.
October has just concluded and November is here. This is always an exciting time with the World Series (How about those Astros!?), Halloween and Dia de Los Muertos, and the beginning of deer hunting season in Texas. October 31 also closes our State Employee Charitable Campaign month, with new highs reached each year for generosity by our team members.
The Board met on August 14th for its regular quarterly meeting. Because of the number of bills that passed during the 2017 legislative session affecting the agency’s license holders and the agency’s operations, a large number of draft rules were proposed. Several Agreed Orders, a modification and a Proposal for Decision (PFD) arising out of a case heard at the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH), extended the agenda. We heard quarterly reports from our Commissioner, directors, and major committees.
As the Board and its staff get prepared for its next meeting on Monday, August 14th, I am pleased to tell you that the summer has been very productive. All of the agency teams are handling very high volumes of matters, even with daily staff numbers reduced due to summer vacations. Despite this, the teams are keeping up with demand, but not as many or as quickly as we want. 
You may have heard through the grapevine or read somewhere online about the TALCB SES staff offering to resolve a complaint case through a contingent dismissal or "CD". Hopefully, this article will give you a better understanding what that means.
SB 1516 amends Chapter 1104 to address some recent changes in federal law regarding the regulation of AMCs, to provide consistency in terminology, and to repeal some outdated provisions. The bill also makes some conforming changes to align Chapter 1104 with the amendments made last session to Chapter 1103, the appraiser licensing act administered by the Board.
The Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board (TALCB) is pleased to announce an important win for consumers in Texas. On April 6, 2017, former real estate appraiser Robert Chandler Smith, Jr. (Smith) pled guilty in Travis County District Court to felony charges of false statement to obtain property or credit. As a result, the Court placed Smith on six years of community supervision, imposed a fine and prohibited him from performing real estate appraisals. This criminal prosecution protects Texas consumers from Smith’s illegal and deceptive appraisal activities.
Memorial Day was the last day of the 85th Legislative session. Several bills were filed this session relating to the agency and its license holders but not all of those bills made it through the process. Following is a summary of bills that passed both houses of the Legislature and have direct effect on license holders.