HB 1440 -- Missouri Appraisal Management Company Registration and
Regulation Act

Sponsor:  Denison

This bill establishes the Missouri Appraisal Management Company
Registration and Regulation Act to regulate real estate appraisal
management companies.  In its main provisions, the bill:

(1)  Makes it unlawful for any person to act as a real estate
appraisal management company, to directly or indirectly engage or
assume to engage in the business of real estate appraisal
management, or to advertise or hold himself or herself out as
engaging in or conducting the business of real estate appraisal
management without being registered with the Division of Finance
within the Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and
Professional Registration;

(2)  Allows the division to adopt rules necessary to implement,
administer, and enforce the provisions of the bill and to:

(a)  Prescribe forms and procedures for submitting information to
the division;

(b)  Prescribe standards of practice for registered companies;
and

(c)  Prescribe standards for the operation of real estate
appraisal management companies;

(3)  Requires appraisal management companies to make written
application to the division for the registration of the company
with the required fee as established by rule.  No company may be
owned by a person who has had an appraiser license or certificate
refused, denied, canceled, or revoked.  Anyone with more than 10%
ownership in an appraisal management company must be of good
moral character and submit to a background investigation at his
or her own expense.  Once the division has received all the
required information and fees, a certificate of registration
authorizing the company to act as an appraiser management company
will be issued unless the division finds reason to deny.  An
applicant who is denied will be given the opportunity for a
hearing before the division;

(4)  Allows the division to take disciplinary action as provided
in Sections 361.800 - 361.855, RSMo;

(5)  Requires registrants who believe a real estate appraiser has
engaged in unethical conduct or violated any applicable law or
the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP)
to file a complaint with the division against the appraiser;

(6)  Requires fees charged by a real estate appraiser to not
contain hidden charges.  Fees must be paid to the appraiser
within 30 days of the date the appraisal is transmitted;

(7)  Requires an applicant who is not a resident of this state to
also submit with his or her application an irrevocable consent
that service of process in any action against the applicant
arising out of the applicant's activities as an appraisal
management company be made by delivery of the process on the
division director and to submit the name and address of its
registered agent;

(8)  Requires registrants to maintain complete records of all
appraisal information and allows the division to inspect the
records periodically without prior notice or when pertinent to an
investigation;

(9)  Requires each real estate appraisal management company to
designate a managing principal who is responsible for assuring
that the company is in compliance with these provisions.  An
individual registrant operating as a sole proprietorship will be
considered the managing principal.  Anyone not complying with
this provision will have his or her registration suspended until
compliance has been achieved;

(10)  Specifies that registrations will expire June 30 of every
year and become invalid unless renewed by filing an application
and paying a renewal fee as established by rule.  Additional fees
will be charged if the application is late, except that any
registrant failing to reinstate within six months will be
required to file a new application for registration.
Reinstatement will not be retroactive;

(11)  Prohibits anyone under a real estate appraisal management
company, any third party acting as joint venture partner, or an
independent contractor from influencing or attempting to
influence the development, reporting, result, or review of an
appraisal through coercion, extortion, collusion, compensation,
inducement, intimidation, bribery, or any other manner as
specified in the bill;

(12)  Requires the division to keep records relating to all
applicants for registration whether granted or refused.  The
division will also keep a current roster of all appraisal
management companies registered and will file the roster with the
Secretary of State on or before November 1 of each year; and

(13)  Requires a surety bond of $250,000 to accompany each
registration.

The bill contains an emergency clause.

Missouri House of Representatives
95th General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated September 14, 2010 at 3:10 pm