S-485                 _______________________________________________

                                                   SENATE BILL NO. 5298

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1989 Regular Session

By Senators Craswell and Bauer

Read first time 1/20/89 and referred to Committee on   Governmental Operations.

AN ACT Relating to qualifications for persons assessing real property; and amending RCW 36.21.015.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

        Sec. 1.  Section 1, chapter 27, Laws of 1971 ex. sess. as last amended by section 30, chapter 75, Laws of 1977 and RCW 36.21.015 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) (a) Any person having the responsibility of valuing real property for purposes of taxation including persons acting as assistants or deputies to a county assessor under RCW 36.21.011 as now or hereafter amended, shall have first:

          (((1))) (i) Graduated from an accredited high school or passed a high school equivalency examination;

          (((2))) (ii) Had at least one year of experience in transactions involving real property, in appraisal of real property, or in assessment of real property, or at least one year of experience in a combination of the three;

          (((3))) (iii) Become knowledgeable in repair and remodeling of buildings and improvement of land, and in the significance of locality and area to the value of real property; and

          (((4))) (iv) Become knowledgeable in the standards for appraising property set forth by the department of revenue.

(b) The department of ((personnel shall prepare with the advice of the department of)) revenue shall prepare and administer an examination on the subjects of ((subsections (3) and (4))) (a) (iii) and (iv) of this subsection, and no person shall assess real property for purposes of taxation without having passed either said examination or international association of assessing officers course I.  A person ((passing said examination)) meeting these requirements shall be certified ((accordingly)) by the ((director of the)) department of ((personnel:  PROVIDED, HOWEVER, That)) revenue.

(c) This ((section)) subsection shall not apply to any person who shall have either:

          (((1))) (i) Been certified as a real property appraiser by the department of personnel prior to May 21, 1971; or

          (((2))) (ii) Attended and satisfactorily completed the assessor's school operated jointly by the department of revenue and the Washington state assessors association prior to August 9, 1971.

(2) Persons receiving and maintaining professional designations from the international association of assessing officers, american institute of real estate appraisers, society of real estate appraisers, or any other professional appraisal organization having a continuing annual educational requirement comparable to the american institute of real estate appraisers, international association of assessing officers, or the society of real estate appraisers shall be eligible for compensated recognition at the rate of fifty dollars per month for residential designations such as senior residential appraiser, residential member, or senior real property analyst; and one hundred dollars per month for advanced designations such as certified assessment evaluator, member of appraisal institute, or senior real estate analyst, compensation to be provided at the approval of the county assessor.