Original Notice.

     Preproposal statement of inquiry was filed as WSR 03-19-022.

     Title of Rule and Other Identifying Information: Amending WAC 458-10-050 Continuing education requirements -- Appraisal practice and ethics.

     Hearing Location(s): Capital Plaza Building, 4th Floor, L&P Large Conference Room, 1025 Union Avenue S.E., Olympia, WA, on November 30, 2004, at 9:30 a.m.

     Date of Intended Adoption: December 7, 2004.

     Submit Written Comments to: James A. Winterstein, Department of Revenue, P.O. Box 47453, Olympia, WA 98504-7453, e-mail JimWi@dor.wa.gov, fax (360) 586-5543, by November 30, 2004.

     Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Sandy Davis no later than ten days before the hearing date, TTY 1-800-451-7985 or (360) 725-7499.

     Purpose of the Proposal and Its Anticipated Effects, Including Any Changes in Existing Rules: WAC 458-10-050 is proposed to be amended so as to coordinate the accreditation requirements for accredited appraisers with the Department of Revenue and county assessor's offices under RCW 36.21.015 with the requirements for certified and licensed real estate appraisers under chapter 18.140 RCW. The rule currently provides that no continuing education credit will be given for courses taken within any five-year period that have the same or very similar content. The proposed rule provides that no continuing education credit will be given for courses taken within any four-year period. This change more closely coordinates with the continuing education requirements for certified and licensed real estate appraisers.

     Reasons Supporting Proposal: RCW 36.21.015 requires the Department of Revenue to coordinate accreditation requirements with the requirements for certified real estate appraisers under chapter 18.140 RCW. This rule change does that.

     Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 36.21.015, 84.08.010, and 84.08.070.

     Statute Being Implemented: RCW 36.21.015.

     Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.

     Name of Proponent: Department of Revenue, governmental.

     Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting: James A. Winterstein, 1025 Union Avenue S.E., Suite #544, Olympia, WA, (360) 570-6117; Implementation and Enforcement: Peri Maxey, 1025 Union Avenue S.E., Suite #200, Olympia, WA, (360) 570-5860.

     No small business economic impact statement has been prepared under chapter 19.85 RCW. A small business economic impact statement is not required for the reason that the rule does not impose any administrative performance requirement upon any small business.

     A cost-benefit analysis is not required under RCW 34.05.328. The proposed rule is not a significant legislative rule as defined by RCW 34.05.328.

October 20, 2004

Alan R. Lynn

Rules Coordinator

OTS-6774.1

AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 97-08-068, filed 4/1/97, effective 5/2/97)

WAC 458-10-050   Continuing education requirements -- Appraisal practice and ethics.   (1) Introduction. This rule provides information about the process for renewing an accreditation certificate, including detailed information about the continuing education requirements required of renewal applicants.

     (2) Renewal of accreditation certificate. An accredited appraiser desiring to renew his or her accreditation certificate must complete a renewal application and submit it to the property tax division of the department at least two weeks prior to the expiration date of the certificate. In order to receive a renewal of the certificate, the applicant must provide proof that he or she has attended a minimum of fifteen classroom hours of approved instruction within the two years preceding the expiration date of the certificate.

     (((2))) (3) Extensions of time for renewal. An applicant may request an extension of time to submit the renewal application and complete the continuing education requirements if the request is submitted prior to the expiration date of the certificate. The time extension shall only be approved upon a showing of good cause by the applicant and only for a maximum time period of three months from the original expiration date of the certificate. Good cause may include, but is not limited to, a showing of long-term illness or extended absence from work for valid reasons. Excessive workload, insufficient funds, lack of budget allocation, or other similar reasons are not satisfactory to show good cause.

     (((3))) (4) Preapproval of courses. All courses, seminars, or workshops must be preapproved by the department in order to be applied toward the continuing education requirement. The department ((shall)) will use the following criteria to approve courses, seminars, or workshops:

     (a) Any course, seminar, or workshop directly related to real property appraising and offered by qualified personnel ((shall)) will be approved for the full number of classroom hours involved; and

     (b) Any seminar or workshop directly related to a topic or topics of general interest to an assessor's office and offered by qualified personnel ((shall)) will be approved for a maximum of three classroom hours. No more than three hours out of the fifteen classroom hours required may be on a topic or topics of general interest to an assessor's office.

     (((4))) (5) Course examination not required. No examination is required for courses, seminars, or workshops taken to satisfy the requirement for continuing education classroom hours.

     (((5))) (6) Participation in education other than as a student. The continuing education requirement may be satisfied by participating other than as a student in educational process and programs approved by the department including teaching, program development, and authorship of textbooks or other written instructional materials. Approval of the number of classroom hours ((shall)) will be based upon the subject matter and time spent in preparation or development of the training or materials. In order to meet the continuing education requirement in this manner, the following criteria must be met:

     (a) Textbook, course, or presentation materials must originate with and be developed by the textbook or course author or the presenter;

     (b) The textbook or course author or presenter must provide the department with a description of the work involved in preparing the textbook, course, or presentation, together with the amount of time spent in preparation and amount of time, if any, proposed to be spent in actual training or presenting; and

     (c) The course author or presenter must provide the department with a copy of the course or presentation outline showing the amount of time allotted to each topic covered in the course or presentation.

     (((6))) (7) Topics covered. Courses, seminars, or workshops taken to satisfy the continuing education requirement for accredited appraisers must cover topics related to real property appraisal, such as:

     (a) Ad valorem taxation;

     (b) Arbitrations;

     (c) Business courses related to practice of real estate;

     (d) Construction estimating;

     (e) Ethics and standards of professional practice;

     (f) Land use planning, zoning, and taxation;

     (g) Property development;

     (h) Real estate law;

     (i) Real property exchange;

     (j) Real property computer applications;

     (k) Mass appraisal;

     (l) Geographic information systems (GIS);

     (m) Levy process;

     (n) Boards of equalization; and

     (o) Other subjects as are approved by the department.

     (((7))) (8) Same or similar content.

     (a) No applicant ((shall)) will receive approval from the department for courses taken within any ((five)) four-year time period that have the same or very similar content and are deemed comparable by the department, even if the course providers are different.

     (b) Applicants who request approval from the department for continuing education hours for preparation and development of textbook, course, or presentation materials that have previously been approved by the department must provide sufficient information and explanation to indicate how the materials differ from the original approved materials and how much preparation and time was involved in the revision of the original materials.

     (((8))) (9) Carry-over of classroom hours. A maximum of five continuing education classroom hours may be carried over and applied to the following two-year period of accreditation.

     (((9))) (10) Education requirement for standards of appraisal practice and ethics. Each accredited appraiser is required to successfully complete fifteen classroom hours of a course or courses approved by the department in standards of appraisal practice and ethics. If the course or courses have not been successfully completed at the time an applicant is accredited, the course or courses attended to satisfy this requirement may also be used to satisfy the general continuing education requirement and are not in addition to the fifteen hours of continuing education required to be satisfied every two years. The requirement for successful completion of fifteen classroom hours in standards of appraisal practice and ethics must be satisfied in any one of the following three ways:

     (a) An accredited appraiser had successfully completed the fifteen classroom hours of a course or courses at the time he or she was initially accredited, and can provide proof to the department of such successful completion;

     (b) An accredited appraiser who has not yet successfully completed the fifteen hours of such course or courses must do so within three years of the effective date of this rule; or

     (c) An applicant for accreditation must either:

     (i) Have successfully completed fifteen hours of such course or courses within three years prior to the date of application; or

     (ii) Successfully complete fifteen hours of such course or courses within three years of the date of accreditation.

     (((10))) (11) Failure to comply with continuing education requirements. Any accredited appraiser whose accreditation certificate has expired, and who has not received an extension of time under subsection (((2))) (3) of this section, is prohibited from appraising real property for purposes of taxation. After the certificate has expired, an applicant must show the following in order to renew the certificate:

     (a) For a certificate that expired less than two years prior to the date the renewal application is submitted, an applicant must show that he or she has satisfied the fifteen classroom hours of continuing education requirement within the previous two years. Any application submitted within two years of the certificate expiration that fails to satisfy the continuing education requirement will be denied.

     (b) For a certificate that expired more than two years prior to the date the renewal application is submitted, the application will be treated as a new application for accreditation and in addition, the applicant will be required to show that he or she has satisfied thirty classroom hours of continuing education within the previous four years.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 36.21.015, 84.08.010 and 84.08.070. 97-08-068, § 458-10-050, filed 4/1/97, effective 5/2/97.]

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