00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 169(FIN) 01 "An Act relating to the educational requirements for certain real estate brokers, 02 associate brokers, and salespersons with new or suspended licenses; relating to review of 03 real estate transactions by attorneys or associate brokers; relating to the requirements 04 for a real estate broker license and an associate real estate broker license; and providing 05 for an effective date." 06 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 07 * Section 1. AS 08.88.071(b) is amended to read: 08 (b) When an award is made from the real estate surety fund under this chapter, 09 the commission may suspend the license of the real estate licensee whose actions 10 formed the basis of the award. A suspension ordered under this subsection shall be 11 lifted if the licensee reaches an agreement with the commission on terms and 12 conditions for the repayment to the real estate surety fund of the money awarded to the 13 claimant and the costs of hearing the claim under AS 08.88.465 and if the licensee 01 satisfies the requirements of AS 08.88.095. The suspension shall be reimposed if the 02 licensee violates the terms of a repayment agreement entered into under this 03 subsection. 04 * Sec. 2. AS 08.88.091(e) is amended to read: 05 (e) Except for a course described in (f)(1) or (3) of this section, in order for an 06 educational course to be recognized for credit under this section, AS 08.88.095, or 07 08.88.098, the course outline and the instructor of the course shall [MUST] have been 08 approved by the commission or the commission's designee before the course is [WAS] 09 conducted. A course outline or instructor is considered approved if the commission or 10 the commission's designee does not disapprove the outline or instructor within 45 days 11 after the date on which complete application was made for approval. Each approved 12 contact hour of a submitted course outline constitutes one credit hour of 13 [CONTINUING] education under (d) of this section, AS 08.88.095, or 08.88.098. 14 The fee for continuing education course certification under AS 08.88.221 and for 15 course certification under AS 08.88.221 to satisfy the educational requirements of 16 AS 08.88.095 and 08.88.098 must [SHALL] be based on the hours approved for 17 credit, not on the hours submitted. 18 * Sec. 3. AS 08.88.091(f) is amended to read: 19 (f) The commission shall establish by regulation the educational and 20 continuing educational requirements for licenses issued by the commission. The 21 regulations for continuing education requirements and for educational requirements 22 under AS 08.88.095 and 08.88.098 must allow the following types of courses to 23 qualify for the appropriate number of credit hours, as determined by the commission: 24 (1) courses that are developed by national organizations, as identified 25 for the purpose of this paragraph in the commission's regulations, that are delivered by 26 nationally certified instructors and that are required in order to earn professional 27 designations from a national organization in specialized areas of licensed real estate 28 practice; notwithstanding other provisions of this chapter, the commission may not 29 charge a fee for these courses; 30 (2) technology courses directly related to real estate practice that are 31 designed to enhance the skills and performance of a real estate licensee; and 01 (3) courses offered by an accredited college or university as part of a 02 real estate curriculum that are available for at least one quarter-hour or one-half 03 semester-hour of academic credit; the commission may not charge a fee for these 04 courses. 05 * Sec. 4. AS 08.88 is amended by adding new sections to read: 06 Sec. 08.88.095. Educational requirements after initial license. (a) In 07 addition to the continuing educational requirements of AS 08.88.091(d), within one 08 year after the date that the commission issues an initial license under this chapter, the 09 licensee shall complete 20 hours of education approved by the commission under 10 AS 08.88.091. 11 (b) On the document representing an initial license, the commission shall 12 include clear and prominent language stating that the license is subject to the licensee's 13 completion of the educational requirements within one year after the date of the 14 issuance of the license. 15 (c) Within 30 days after the end of the one-year period, the licensee shall 16 submit, on a form provided by the commission, a certification that the licensee has 17 completed the educational requirements. 18 (d) After a licensee submits the completed form under (c) of this section and 19 pays the required fee, the commission shall issue a new license document to the 20 licensee that does not contain the language required by (b) of this section. 21 (e) If a licensee fails to complete the educational requirements within the one- 22 year period or to provide the certification required by (c) of this section, the license 23 automatically lapses 30 days after the end of the one-year period. However, the 24 commission may reinstate the license under AS 08.88.241. 25 (f) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section, an individual who is 26 issued an initial license as a real estate broker is not required to satisfy the educational 27 requirements for that initial license if, immediately before the issuance, the individual 28 is licensed as an associate real estate broker under this chapter. 29 (g) In this section, "educational requirements" means the educational 30 requirements of (a) of this section. 31 Sec. 08.88.098. Educational requirements after suspension. (a) In addition 01 to the continuing educational requirements of AS 08.88.091(d) and the educational 02 requirements of AS 08.88.095(a), if the commission suspends a license under 03 AS 08.01.075, the licensee shall complete the education required by the commission 04 before the commission may reinstate the suspended license. 05 (b) After completing the educational requirements of (a) of this section, the 06 licensee shall submit, on a form provided by the commission, a certification that the 07 licensee has completed the educational requirements. 08 (c) The educational requirements of (a) of this section are in addition to any 09 other conditions that the commission sets for reinstating a suspended license under this 10 chapter. 11 * Sec. 5. AS 08.88.171(a) is amended to read: 12 (a) A natural person qualifies for a real estate broker license if the person 13 passes the brokers examination, applies for a license within six months after passing 14 the examination, furnishes satisfactory proof of successful completion of the education 15 requirements of AS 08.88.091, has had at least 24 months of active and continuous 16 experience as a [LICENSED] real estate licensee [SALESPERSON] within the 36 17 months immediately preceding application for the broker license, is not under 18 indictment for, or seven years have elapsed since the person has completed a sentence 19 imposed upon conviction of, forgery, theft, extortion, conspiracy to defraud creditors, 20 or any other felony involving moral turpitude, and is an owner of a real estate business 21 or employed as a real estate broker by a foreign or domestic corporation, partnership, 22 limited partnership, or limited liability company. Unless the broker fails to satisfy the 23 educational requirements of AS 08.88.095 or renew the license, or [UNLESS] the 24 broker's license is suspended or revoked, the broker's license continues in effect as 25 long as the broker's license is active. If the broker stops being an owner of a real 26 estate business or stops being employed as a real estate broker by a foreign or 27 domestic corporation, partnership, limited partnership, or limited liability company, 28 the broker's license is suspended from the time the broker stops until the broker 29 satisfies the educational requirements of AS 08.88.098 and 30 (1) [THE BROKER] again becomes an owner of a real estate business 31 or is again employed as a real estate broker by a foreign or domestic corporation, 01 partnership, limited partnership, or limited liability company; or 02 (2) [THE BROKER] is employed by another broker as an associate 03 broker, in which case the real estate broker license shall be returned to the commission 04 by the broker, and the commission shall issue the broker an associate real estate broker 05 license. 06 * Sec. 6. AS 08.88.171(b) is amended to read: 07 (b) A natural person qualifies for an associate real estate broker license if the 08 person passes the brokers examination, applies for the license within six months after 09 passing the examination, submits satisfactory proof of successful completion of the 10 education requirements of AS 08.88.091, has had at least 24 months of active and 11 continuous experience as a [LICENSED] real estate licensee [SALESPERSON] 12 within the 36 months immediately preceding application for the license, is not under 13 indictment for, or seven [FIVE] years have elapsed since the person has completed a 14 sentence imposed upon conviction of, forgery, theft, extortion, conspiracy to defraud 15 creditors, or any other felony involving moral turpitude, and is employed by a licensed 16 real estate broker as an associate real estate broker. Unless the associate broker fails 17 to satisfy the educational requirements of AS 08.88.095 or renew the license, or 18 [UNLESS] the associate broker's license is suspended or revoked, the associate 19 broker's license continues in effect as long as the associate broker is employed by a 20 licensed real estate broker as an associate broker. If the associate broker stops being 21 employed by a licensed real estate broker, the associate broker's license is suspended 22 from the time the associate broker stops until the associate broker satisfies the 23 educational requirements of AS 08.88.098 and 24 (1) [THE ASSOCIATE BROKER] again is employed by a real estate 25 broker as an associate broker; or 26 (2) [THE ASSOCIATE BROKER] becomes an owner of a real estate 27 business or is employed as a real estate broker by a foreign or domestic corporation, 28 partnership, limited partnership, or limited liability company, in which case the 29 associate broker's license shall be returned to the commission by the associate broker, 30 and the commission shall issue the licensee a broker's license. 31 * Sec. 7. AS 08.88.171(c) is amended to read: 01 (c) A natural person qualifies for a real estate salesperson license if the person 02 passes the real estate salesperson examination, applies for the license within six 03 months after passing the examination, submits satisfactory proof of successful 04 completion of the education requirements of AS 08.88.091, is at least 19 years of age 05 [OLD], is not under indictment for forgery, theft, extortion, conspiracy to defraud 06 creditors, or any other felony involving moral turpitude, or, if convicted of such an 07 offense, the person has completed the sentence imposed upon conviction, and is 08 employed by a real estate broker. Unless the salesperson fails to satisfy the 09 educational requirements of AS 08.88.095 or renew the license, or [UNLESS] the 10 real estate salesperson's license is suspended or revoked, a real estate salesperson's 11 license continues in effect as long as the salesperson is employed as a salesperson by a 12 licensed real estate broker. If the salesperson stops being employed as a real estate 13 salesperson, the real estate salesperson's license is suspended from the time the 14 salesperson stops until the salesperson satisfies the educational requirements of 15 AS 08.88.098 and again is employed as a real estate salesperson by a licensed real 16 estate broker. 17 * Sec. 8. AS 08.88.221 is amended to read: 18 Sec. 08.88.221. Fees. The Department of Commerce, Community, and 19 Economic Development shall set fees under AS 08.01.065 for a real estate broker, 20 associate broker, or salesperson licensee or applicant for the following: 21 (1) examination; 22 (2) initial license; 23 (3) renewal of an active license; 24 (4) renewal of an inactive license; 25 (5) amending or transferring a license; 26 (6) publications offered by the commission; 27 (7) seminars offered by the commission; 28 (8) reinstatement of a lapsed license; 29 (9) changes to registered office information; 30 (10) course certification and recertification; and 31 (11) instructor approval and renewal of approval; and 01 (12) issuance of a new license document under AS 08.88.095(d). 02 * Sec. 9. AS 08.88.241(a) is amended to read: 03 (a) A person whose real estate license has lapsed less than 24 months is 04 eligible for reinstatement of the license if the person provides the required application, 05 license fees, proof of continuing education as required by AS 08.88.091 for licensing 06 periods during which the license was inactive or lapsed, proof of completion of the 07 educational requirements under AS 08.88.095(a), if applicable, and any fee 08 required under AS 08.88.221(12). 09 * Sec. 10. AS 08.88.251(a) is amended to read: 10 (a) A real estate licensee who intends to become inactive shall return to the 11 commission the person's license certificate and a completed inactivation form 12 provided by the commission along with any applicable fees. The commission shall 13 issue the person an inactive license certificate. A real estate licensee whose license 14 lapses under AS 08.88.095(e) is not eligible for an inactive license under this 15 subsection unless the license is reinstated under AS 08.88.241. 16 * Sec. 11. AS 08.88.263 is amended to read: 17 Sec. 08.88.263. License by endorsement. A person who holds a valid active 18 real estate license issued by another state shall be granted an equivalent Alaska real 19 estate license if that person: 20 (1) passes the portion of the real estate examination which examines 21 on Alaska law; [AND] 22 (2) meets the requirements of AS 08.88.171; and 23 (3) satisfies the educational requirements under AS 08.88.095(a) if 24 the person has not held the license issued by the other state for one year or more. 25 * Sec. 12. AS 08.88 is amended by adding a new section to read: 26 Sec. 08.88.403. Review of transactions. A real estate broker may contract 27 with and pay an attorney or associate broker to assist the broker to review a real estate 28 transaction before the transaction closes. 29 * Sec. 13. AS 08.88.990 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 30 (12) "initial license" 31 (A) means the first 01 (i) real estate broker license that the commission issues 02 to a person, even if the person previously received an associate real 03 estate broker license or real estate salesperson license under this 04 chapter; 05 (ii) associate real estate broker license that the 06 commission issues to a person, even if the person previously received a 07 real estate broker license or a real estate salesperson license under this 08 chapter; 09 (iii) real estate salesperson license under this chapter 10 that the commission issues to a person, even if the person previously 11 received a real estate broker license or an associate real estate broker 12 license under this chapter; 13 (iv) issuance of a license to an individual after the 14 individual's license has been revoked under AS 08.01.075; 15 (B) does not include the reinstatement of a license under 16 AS 08.88.241(b). 17 * Sec. 14. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 18 read: 19 APPLICABILITY. AS 08.88.095 and 08.88.098, enacted by sec. 4 of this Act, and 20 AS 08.88.071(b), 08.88.091(e), 08.88.091(f), 08.88.171(a), 08.88.171(b), 08.88.171(c), 21 08.88.221, 08.88.241(a), 08.88.251(a), 08.88.263, and 08.88.990, as amended by secs. 1 - 3, 5 22 - 11, and 13 of this Act, do not apply to 23 (1) an initial license unless the initial license is issued on or after the effective 24 date of secs. 1 - 11 and 13 of this Act; in this paragraph, "initial license" has the meaning 25 given in AS 08.88.990(12)(A)(i) - (iii); 26 (2) An initial license issued after a license revocation, unless the license 27 revocation occurs on or after the effective date of secs. 1 - 11 and 13 of this Act; in this 28 paragraph, "initial license" has the meaning given in AS 08.88.990(12)(A)(iv); or 29 (3) a suspended license unless the license is suspended on or after the effective 30 date of secs. 1 - 11 and 13 of this Act. 31 * Sec. 15. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 01 read: 02 TRANSITION: REGULATIONS. The Department of Commerce, Community, and 03 Economic Development may proceed to adopt regulations necessary to implement secs. 1 - 04 11, 13, and 14 of this Act. The regulations take effect under AS 44.62 (Administrative 05 Procedure Act), but not before the effective date of secs. 1 - 11, 13, and 14 of this Act. 06 * Sec. 16. Sections 12 and 15 of this Act take effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c). 07 * Sec. 17. Sections 1 - 11, 13, and 14 of this Act take effect January 1, 2006.