Sec. 11. Transition provisions. An applicant who submits a license application to the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, Office of Licensing and Registration, Board of Real Estate Appraisers between January 1, 2008 and December 30, 2009 who has satisfactorily completed one or more of the requirements for licensure, education, experience and examination prior to January 1, 2008 is deemed to satisfy the requirements for licensure, education, experience and examination in effect at the time of application with respect to that requirement as required for that level of licensure, while such an applicant who has not satisfactorily completed one or more of the requirements for licensure, education, experience and examination must meet the requirements in effect at the time of application with respect to that requirement. An applicant who does not complete the requirements for licensure before December 31, 2009 must satisfy all of the requirements for licensure in effect at the time of application.

Sec. 12. License status. On the effective date of this Act every person holding an active license issued pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 32, chapter 124, subchapter 3 under the requirements for that level of license in effect prior to January 1, 2008 remains licensed at the same level and is not required to meet the new license criteria for that same level of licensure effective January 1, 2008.

Sec. 13. Licensed real property appraiser. Beginning January 1, 2008, every person holding an active real property appraiser license must be issued a residential real property appraiser license at the time the licensee next is issued a license.

SUMMARY

This bill proposes to change the license qualifications for real estate appraiser applicants to conform to the education, experience and examination requirements adopted by the federally recognized appraiser qualifications board, effective January 1, 2008. Under the provisions of Title XI of the federal Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989, the appraiser qualifications board establishes the minimum education, experience and examination requirements for real estate appraisers to obtain a state license.

The changes include an increase in the education requirements for licensure. The changes include an increase in the number of appraisal-related classroom hours in addition to