The Texas Appraiser Licensing & Certification Board met on Friday May 19 at headquarters in Austin. TALCB Chair, Sarah Oates, opened the meeting by welcoming new Board Member John H. Eichelberger, III. Chair Oates also thanked outgoing Board Member Clayton Black for his service and acknowledged the reappointment of Board Member Rolando Castro.
Bias
“Texas is ahead of this issue especially with our partnership with the Texas Workforce Commission,” said TALCB Commissioner Chelsea Buchholtz as she presented to the Board highlights of agency operations.
One highlight includes a group of TALCB staff who attended the spring conference of the Association of Appraiser Regulatory Officials. During the conference, TALCB's Division Director, Melissa Tran, discussed the TALCB-TWC partnership to address Fair Housing & appraisal bias violations.
Also discussed during the Board meeting, the adopted changes made to the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP). One to note is the update to the ETHICS RULE related to nondiscrimination. USPAP prohibiting bias is not new, the recent addition makes that stance more explicit. The new edition of USPAP becomes effective January 1, 2024, and there is no end date.
Education Changes
The Board was updated on their comments submitted in response to the Appraiser Qualifications Board’s (AQB) First Exposure Draft on the Real Property Appraiser Qualification Criteria. Those comments include:
The Board supports specifically requiring topics of Valuation Bias and Fair Housing Laws and Regulations in the Criteria. Requiring additional hours for certain license types increases barriers to entry, which we as a Board are mindful of as we look for solutions to strengthen the diversity in our industry. Our preference would be that the curriculum on these topics be incorporated into existing courses for both Qualifying and Continuing Education which would be more effective in recognizing and addressing bias throughout the work that appraisers do, as opposed to a stand-alone class. We recognize that this manner would be a significant undertaking and may take more time to implement but this moment calls upon us all to do hard things and take the time to carry out meaningful solutions.
Part of the proposed changes to the Criteria is adding eight hours of qualifying education and seven hours of continuing education on topics of valuation bias and fair housing laws and regulation, for all license types. After this initial course, license holders will be required to take a four-hour valuation bias course every two years.
AQB is hosting a webinar on June 1 to discuss the Second Exposure Draft which was released on May 17. There is a scheduled meeting on June 22 with the intention to adopt the proposed changes.
Highlighting USPAP Changes
Other USPAP changes are related to the definitions of “personal inspection” and “appraiser”. USPAP “personal inspection” language now describes this action as an “in-person observation”. Details on the word change can be found on page 46 of the Fifth Exposure Draft. There is also now a comment added to the definition of “appraiser” in the Draft. This comment can be found on page 45.
TALCB’s new Exam Topics Resource
TALCB now publishes exam topic reports for Appraisers which identify the pass rates for each exam category. Education providers and students may find this information helpful in identifying topics where the success rate is lower.
TALCB Notebook
The TALCB Notebook is ready for use. Trainees can use the Notebook to track appraisal experience hours and submit experience to their supervisors for approval. The Notebook was developed using Appraisal Subcommittee Grant funding.
PAREA Launch
Commissioner Buchholtz provided the Board with an update on the Practical Applications of Real Estate Appraisal (PAREA). Two PAREA providers, McKissock, and the Appraisal Institute (AI) have estimated launch timelines. McKissock's is in 2024. AI announced it received AQB approval on May 18 and has plans a to launch a “broad” program this September.
AI has indicated it will first host a pilot program in 20 “PAREA ready” states, including Texas. Select participants will have already completed their Qualifying Education prior to joining the pilot.
TALCB is working on obtaining more information on PAREA launches and will provide updates when new information is released.
What’s Next
The above information is a summary of highlights of the Board’s May 19 meeting. The full Agenda, Meeting Materials, and meeting video recording are now posted online for review.
TALCB meets again August 18.