It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. Sections 5-20.7-4, 5-20.7-8, 5-20.7-9 and 5-20.7-12 of the General Laws in Chapter 5-20.7 entitled "Real Estate Appraiser Certification Act" are hereby amended to read as follows:

5-20.7-4. Creation of board -- Composition -- Appointment, terms and compensation of members. -- (a)(1) Within the department of business regulation, there is hereby created the Rhode Island real estate appraisers board which shall consist of ten (10) members to be appointed by the governor. Six (6) of the board members shall be practicing appraisers and, for the initial board appointment, shall be members in good standing of one of the following professional associations or the successor associations: the American Institute of Real Estate Appraisers, the Society of Real Estate Appraisers, the International Right of Way Association, the National Association of Independent Fee Appraisers, or the International Association of assessing officers. Where possible, at least one but not more than two (2) appraiser appointments shall be of the membership from these professional organizations.

(2) One board member shall be a member of the general public, and shall not be engaged in the practice of real estate appraisal. One board member shall hold a real estate license under chapter 20.5 of title 5 and shall not be a state certified real estate appraiser. One member shall be a representative of the Rhode Island banking industry. The director of the department of business regulation or his or her designee shall serve at all times as a member of the board ex officio without voting privileges.

(3) The term of office of the initial members and the powers of the initial board shall expire on December 31, 1991.

(b) Commencing January 1, 1992, and thereafter, the board shall consist of ten (10) members; six (6) members shall be state certified appraisers. Two (2) appraiser members shall be appointed for a term of three (3) years, two (2) members for a term of two (2) years, and two (2) members for a term of one year. One board member shall be a member of the general public, appointed for a term of three (3) years, and shall not be engaged in the practice of real estate appraisal. One board member shall hold a real estate license under chapter 20.5 of title 5, appointed for a term of two (2) years and shall not be a state certified real estate appraiser. One member shall be a representative of the Rhode Island Banking Industry and shall be appointed for a term of one year. The director of the department of business regulation, or his or her designee, shall serve at all times as a member of the board ex-officio without voting privileges.

(c)(1) Successors of all members shall be appointed for terms of three (3) years each and until their successors are appointed and qualified by subscribing to the constitutional oath of office, which shall be filed with the secretary of state. Members to fill vacancies shall be appointed for the unexpired term. No member shall be appointed to succeed himself or herself for more than two (2) terms. Upon qualification of the members appointed, the board shall organize by selecting from its members a chairperson . {ADD and vice-chairperson with a term of office of one (1) year. ADD}

(2) The board shall meet not less than once each month or as necessary in order to conduct its business, the dates and times of which shall be decided by a vote of the members.

(3) Each real estate appraiser member of the board appointed as of January 1, 1992, must be a state certified real estate appraiser. At least one-half (1/2) of the appraiser members shall hold the general appraisal certificate and not less than two (2) shall hold the residential appraisal certificate.

(4) Upon expiration of their terms, members of the board shall continue to hold office until the appointment and qualification of their successors. The appointing authority may remove a member for cause.

(5) A quorum of the board shall be a majority of the voting members of the board members appointed and/or sitting whichever is less with at least three (3) of these members required to be appraiser members.

(6) The department of business regulation with the assistance of the board, shall implement a program for recertification on or before July 1, 1992, and establish such reasonable rules and regulations as may be appropriate to insure that the examination, education, and experience requirements of certificate and license holders meet the public interest and the minimum standards of the Appraisal Foundation.

(d) The board shall adopt a seal of such design as it shall prescribe. Copies of all records and papers in the office of the board, duly certified and authenticated by its seal, shall be received in all courts with like effect as the original. All records of the board shall be open to public inspection under such reasonable rules and regulations as it shall prescribe.

(e) Each member of the board initial and successor shall receive as compensation for each day actually spent on his or her official duties the sum of seventy-five dollars ($75.00) in his or her actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of his or her official duties. Such compensation is not to exceed fifteen hundred dollars ($1,500) annually.

5-20.7-8. Classes of certification and licensing -- Residential and general. -- (a) There shall be two (2) classes for state certified real estate appraisers:

(1) A state certified residential real estate appraiser shall be a person who fulfills the requirements for certification for the appraisal of residential real property. For the purposes of this section residential property means property which is used for noncomplex single or multi-family dwellings of 1-4 units having no minimum transaction value, or property used for complex 1-4 residential units having a transaction value of less than two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000).

(2) A state certified general real estate appraiser shall be a person who fulfills the requirements for certification for the appraisal of all types of real property.

(b) A state licensed appraiser shall be a person who fulfills the requirements for licensing for the appraisal of residential property. For purposes of this section, residential property applies to the appraisal of noncomplex 1-4 residential units having a transaction value of less than one million dollars ($1,000,000) and complex 1-4 residential units having a transaction value of less than two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000).

(c) An individual who meets the requirements of section 5-20.7-9 shall be allowed two (2) years from the date of issue of a temporary {ADD trainee ADD} license to complete the experience requirement, providing that the individual works directly under a certified appraiser. {ADD Upon request, the trainee shall be granted on a two (2) year extension to complete his or her experience requirement. No further extensions shall be granted. All continuing education requirements shall be fulfilled. ADD}

5-20.7-9. Requirements prior to certification or licensing examination. -- (a) Residential classification. -- As a prerequisite to taking the examination for certification as a state certified residential real estate appraiser, an applicant shall present evidence satisfactory to the board that he or she has successfully completed not less than one hundred twenty (120) {ADD the required ADD} classroom hours of courses {ADD promulgated by the appraisal qualifications board of the appraisal foundation ADD} in subjects related to real estate appraisal and the uniform standards of professional appraisal practice from a duly licensed real estate school pursuant to the provisions of section 5-20.5-19 or a nationally recognized appraisal organization, college, university, or other school approved by the appraisal qualifications board of the appraisal foundation, or such other school as approved by the board.

(b) General classification. -- As a prerequisite to taking the examination for certification as a state certified general real estate appraiser, an applicant shall present evidence satisfactory to the director that he or she has successfully completed not less than one hundred sixty-five (165) {ADD the required ADD} classroom hours of courses {ADD promulgated by the appraisal qualifications board of the appraisal foundation ADD} in subjects related to real estate appraisal and the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice from a duly licensed real estate school pursuant to the provisions of section 5-20.5-19, or a nationally recognized appraisal organization, college, university, or other school approved by the appraisal qualifications board of the appraisal foundation, or such other school as approved by the board. A minimum of sixty (60) hours of the required one hundred sixty-five (165) classroom hours required by this subsection shall be related to the subject of income capitalization.

(c) Licensed real estate appraiser. -- As a prerequisite to taking the examination for licensing as a state licensed residential real estate appraiser, an applicant shall present evidence satisfactory to the board that he or she has successfully completed not less than seventy-five (75) {ADD the required ADD} classroom hours of courses {ADD promulgated by the appraisal qualifications board of the appraisal foundation ADD} in subjects related to real estate appraisal and the uniform standards of professional appraisal practice from a duly licensed real estate school pursuant to the provisions of section 5-20.5-19 or a nationally recognized appraisal organization, college, university, or other school approved by the appraisal qualifications board of appraisal foundation, or such other school as approved by the board.

5-20.7-12. Issuance of certificate or license -- Certificate or license number. -- A certificate or license issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall bear the signature of the chairperson of the board and a certificate number assigned by the director.

{ADD Prior to the issuance of any trainee license, the trainee shall provide to the department a notarized affidavit signed by the certified appraiser who shall directly supervise the trainee. The affidavit must provide the business name, address and license number of the certified appraiser. ADD}

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.