SECTIONS 11340-11346 - California Statutes

BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE

SECTION 11340-11346

11340. The director shall adopt regulations governing the process
and the procedure of applying for a license which shall include, but
not be limited to, necessary experience or education, equivalency,
and minimum requirements of the Appraisal Foundation, if any.
(a) For purposes of the educational background requirements
established under this section, the director shall grant credits for
any courses taken on real estate appraisal ethics or practices
pursuant to Section 10153.2, or which are deemed by the director to
meet standards established pursuant to this part and federal law.
(b) For the purpose of implementing and applying this section, the
director shall prescribe by regulation "equivalent courses" and
"equivalent experience." The experience of employees of an assessor's
office or of the State Board of Equalization in setting forth
opinions of value of real property for tax purposes shall be deemed
equivalent to experience in federally related real estate appraisal
activity. Notwithstanding any other law, a holder of a valid real
estate broker license shall be deemed to have completed appraisal
license application experience requirements upon proof that he or she
has accumulated 1,000 hours of experience in the valuation of real
property.
(c) The director shall adopt regulations for licensure which shall
meet, at a minimum, the requirements and standards established by
the Appraisal Foundation, the Resolution Trust Corporation, and the
federal financial institutions regulatory agencies acting pursuant to
Section 1112 of the Financial Institutions Reform Recovery and
Enforcement Act of 1989, Public Law 101-73 (FIRREA). The director
shall, by regulation, require the application for a real estate
appraiser license to include the applicant's social security number.
(d) In evaluating the experience of any applicant for a license,
regardless of the number of hours required of that applicant, the
director shall apply the same standards to the experience of all
applicants.
(e) No license shall be issued to an applicant who is less than 18
years of age.

11341. A license issued with an effective date of January 1, 2000,
or later shall be valid for two years unless otherwise extended or
limited by the director.

11343. (a) The office shall submit to the Department of Justice
fingerprint images and related information required by the Department
of Justice of all real estate appraiser license applicants and each
controlling person of each applicant for registration as an appraisal
management company, for the purposes of obtaining information as to
the existence and content of a record of state or federal convictions
and state or federal arrests and also information as to the
existence and content of a record of state or federal arrests for
which the Department of Justice establishes that the person is free
on bail or on his or her own recognizance pending trial or appeal.
(b) When received, the Department of Justice shall forward to the
Federal Bureau of Investigation requests for federal summary criminal
history information received pursuant to this section. The
Department of Justice shall review the information returned from the
Federal Bureau of Investigation and compile and disseminate a
response to the office.
(c) The Department of Justice shall provide a response to the
office pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (p) of Section 11105
of the Penal Code.
(d) The office shall request from the Department of Justice
subsequent arrest notification service, as provided pursuant to
Section 11105.2 of the Penal Code, for persons described in
subdivision (a).
(e) The Department of Justice shall charge a fee sufficient to
cover the cost of processing the request described in this section.

11344. (a) Notwithstanding Section 11341, a temporary license may
be issued pending the outcome of the fingerprint and background check
or as otherwise prescribed by the director. A temporary license is
valid for up to 150 days. Unless otherwise prohibited pursuant to
Section 17520 of the Family Code, a temporary license may be renewed
once at the discretion of the director.
(b) The director may issue a probationary license as follows:
(1) By term.
(2) By conditions to be observed in the exercise of the privileges
granted.

11345. The director shall adopt regulations governing the process
and procedure of applying for registration as an appraisal management
company. Applications for a certificate of registration shall
require, at a minimum, all of the following:
(a) The name of the person or entity seeking registration.
(b) The business address and telephone number of the person or
entity seeking registration.
(c) If the applicant is not a person or entity domiciled in this
state, the name and contact number of a person or entity acting as
agent for service of process in this state, along with an irrevocable
consent to service of process in favor of the office.
(d) The name, address, and contact information for each
controlling person employed by the applicant who has operational
authority to direct the management of, and establish policies for,
the applicant. If the applicant employs more than 10 individuals
meeting the criteria of this subdivision, the applicant may list the
names, addresses, and contact information for the 10 individuals
meeting the criteria who hold the greatest level of management
responsibility within its organization.

11345.05. (a) A registrant shall notify the office within 10
business days, on a form developed by the office, of any additions,
deletions, or changes in the names, addresses, and contact
information for the individuals listed on its application.
(b) A registrant shall correct information on file with the office
within 10 business days of discovering an error in that information,
and shall not be subject to disciplinary action by the director or
the office for incorrect information the registrant corrects within
10 business days of its discovery as being inaccurate.

11345.1. A certificate of registration as an appraisal management
company shall be valid for a period of two years, unless otherwise
extended or limited by the director.

11345.2. (a) No individual may act as a controlling person for a
registrant if any of the following apply:
(1) The individual has entered a plea of guilty or no contest to,
or been convicted of, a felony.
(2) The individual has had a license or certificate to act as an
appraiser or to engage in activities related to the transfer of real
property refused, denied, canceled, or revoked in this state or any
other state.
(b) Any individual who acts as a controlling person of an
appraisal management company and who enters a plea of guilty or no
contest to, or is convicted of, a felony, or who has a license or
certificate as an appraiser refused, denied, canceled, or revoked in
any other state shall report that fact or cause that fact to be
reported to the office, in writing, within 10 days of the date he or
she has knowledge of that fact.

11345.3. The director may not issue a certificate of registration
to an appraisal management company unless the appraisal management
company confirms in its application for registration that all of its
contracts with clients include provision of each of the following as
standard business practices, as and where applicable:
(a) Ensuring that independent contractor appraisers contracted by
the applicant possess all required licenses and certificates from the
office.
(b) Reviewing the work of all independent contractor appraisers
contracted by the applicant to ensure that appraisal services are
performed in accordance with the Uniform Standards of Professional
Appraisal Practice.
(c) Maintaining records of each of the following for each service
request:
(1) Date of receipt of the request.
(2) Name of the person from whom the request was received.
(3) Name of the client for whom the request was made, if different
from the name of the person from whom the request was received.
(4) The appraiser or appraisers assigned to perform the contracted
service.
(5) Date of delivery of the appraisal product to the client.

11345.4. No person or entity acting in the capacity of an appraisal
management company shall improperly influence or attempt to
improperly influence the development, reporting, result, or review of
any appraisal by engaging, without limitation, in any of the
following:
(a) Withholding or threatening to withhold timely payment for an
appraisal.
(b) Withholding or threatening to withhold future business for an
independent appraiser, including removal from approved panels of
appraisers.
(c) Expressly or impliedly promising future business, promotions,
or increased compensation for an independent appraiser.
(d) Conditioning the request for an appraisal service or the
payment of an appraisal fee or salary or bonus on the opinion,
conclusion, or valuation in an appraisal report, or on a preliminary
estimate or opinion requested from an independent appraiser.
(e) Requesting the payment of compensation to achieve higher
priority in the assignment of appraisal business.
(f) Requesting that an appraiser provide an estimated,
predetermined, or desired valuation in an appraisal report, providing
to an appraiser an anticipated, estimated, encouraged, or desired
valuation in an appraisal report, or requesting that an appraiser
provide estimated values of comparable sales at any time before the
appraiser completes an appraisal report.

11345.45. A person or entity may not structure an appraisal
assignment or a contract with an independent appraiser for the
purpose of evading the provisions of this part relating to appraisal
management companies.

11345.6. (a) No registered appraisal management company may alter,
modify, or otherwise change a completed appraisal report submitted by
an independent appraiser, including, without limitation, by doing
either of the following:
(1) Permanently removing the appraiser's signature or seal.
(2) Adding information to, or removing information from, the
appraisal report with an intent to change the value conclusion.
(b) No registered appraisal management company may require an
appraiser to provide it with the appraiser's digital signature or
seal. However, nothing in this subdivision shall be deemed to
prohibit an appraiser from voluntarily providing his or her digital
signature or seal to another person.

11346. The provisions of this part relating to appraisal management
companies shall cease to be operative 60 days after the effective
date of a federal law that mandates the registration or licensing of
appraisal management companies with an entity other than the state
regulatory authority with jurisdiction over licensed and certified
appraisers.