Effective 28 Aug 2012

339.532. Refusal to issue or renew certificate or license, procedure, hearing, grounds for refusal, penalties — revocation, when, appeal — recertification or relicensure, examination required. — 1. The commission may refuse to issue or renew any certificate or license issued pursuant to sections 339.500 to 339.549 for one or any combination of causes stated in subsection 2 of this section. The commission shall notify the applicant in writing of the reasons for the refusal and shall advise the applicant of the right to file a complaint with the administrative hearing commission as provided by chapter 621.

2. The commission may cause a complaint to be filed with the administrative hearing commission as provided by chapter 621 against any state-certified real estate appraiser, state-licensed real estate appraiser, state-licensed appraiser trainee, state-certified residential appraiser trainee, state-certified general appraiser trainee, state-licensed appraisal management company that is a legal entity other than a natural person, any person who is a controlling person as defined in this chapter, or any person who has failed to renew or has surrendered his or her certificate or license for any one or any combination of the following causes:

(1) Procuring or attempting to procure a certificate or license pursuant to section 339.513 by knowingly making a false statement, submitting false information, refusing to provide complete information in response to a question in an application for certification or licensure, or through any form of fraud or misrepresentation;

(2) Failing to meet the minimum qualifications for certification or licensure or renewal established by sections 339.500 to 339.549;

(3) Paying money or other valuable consideration, other than as provided for by section 339.513, to any member or employee of the commission to procure a certificate or license pursuant to sections 339.500 to 339.549;

(4) The person has been finally adjudicated and found guilty, or entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, in a criminal prosecution under the laws of any state or the United States, for any offense reasonably related to the qualifications, functions or duties of any profession licensed or regulated pursuant to sections 339.500 to 339.549 for any offense of which an essential element is fraud, dishonesty or an act of violence, or for any offense involving moral turpitude, whether or not sentence is imposed;

(5) Incompetency, misconduct, gross negligence, dishonesty, fraud, or misrepresentation in the performance of the functions or duties of any profession licensed or regulated by sections 339.500 to 339.549;

(6) Violation of any of the standards for the development or communication of real estate appraisals as provided in or pursuant to sections 339.500 to 339.549;

(7) Failure to comply with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice promulgated by the appraisal standards board of the appraisal foundation;

(8) Failure or refusal without good cause to exercise reasonable diligence in developing an appraisal, preparing an appraisal report, or communicating an appraisal;

(9) Negligence or incompetence in developing an appraisal, in preparing an appraisal report, or in communicating an appraisal;

(10) Violating, assisting or enabling any person to willfully disregard any of the provisions of sections 339.500 to 339.549 or the regulations of the commission for the administration and enforcement of the provisions of sections 339.500 to 339.549;

(11) Accepting an appraisal assignment when the employment itself is contingent upon the appraiser's reporting a predetermined analysis or opinion or where the fee to be paid for the performance of the appraisal assignment is contingent upon the opinion, conclusion, or valuation reached or upon the consequences resulting from the appraisal assignment;

(12) Violating the confidential nature of governmental records to which the person gained access through employment or engagement to perform an appraisal assignment or specialized appraisal services for a governmental agency;

(13) Violating any term or condition of a certificate or license issued by the commission pursuant to the authority of sections 339.500 to 339.549;

(14) Violation of any professional trust or confidence;

(15) Obtaining or attempting to obtain any fee, charge, tuition or other compensation by fraud, deception or misrepresentation;

(16) Assisting or enabling any person to practice or offer to practice any profession licensed or regulated by sections 339.500 to 339.549 who is not licensed or certified and currently eligible to practice pursuant to sections 339.500 to 339.549;

(17) Use of any advertisement or solicitation which is false, misleading or deceptive to the general public or persons to whom the advertisement or solicitation is primarily directed;

(18) Disciplinary action against the holder of a license, certificate or other right to practice any profession regulated pursuant to sections 339.500 to 339.549, imposed by another state, territory, federal agency or country upon grounds for which revocation or suspension is authorized in this state;

(19) Making any material misstatement, misrepresentation, or omission with regard to any application for licensure or certification, or for license or certification renewal. As used in this section, "material" means important information about which the commission should be informed and which may influence a licensing decision;

(20) Engaging in or committing, or assisting any person in engaging in or committing, any practice or act of mortgage fraud, as defined in section 443.930;

(21) Influencing or attempting to influence the development, reporting, or review of an appraisal through coercion, extortion, collusion, compensation, instruction, inducement, intimidation, or bribery.

3. After the filing of such complaint, the proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of chapter 621. Upon a finding by the administrative hearing commission that the grounds, provided in subsection 2 of this section, for disciplinary action are met, the commission may, singly or in combination, publicly censure or place the person named in the complaint on probation on such terms and conditions as the commission deems appropriate for a period not to exceed five years, or may suspend, for a period not to exceed three years, or revoke, the certificate or license. The holder of a certificate or license, or the legal entity and any controlling person in the case of an appraisal management company, revoked pursuant to this section may not obtain certification as a state-certified real estate appraiser, licensure as a state-licensed real estate appraiser, or licensure as an appraisal management company for at least five years after the date of revocation.

4. Notwithstanding other provisions of this section, a real estate appraiser license or certification or an appraisal management company license shall be revoked, or in the case of an applicant, shall not be issued, if the licensee or applicant, or any controlling person in the case of an appraisal management company, has pleaded guilty to, entered a plea of nolo contendere to, or been found guilty of mortgage fraud as defined in section 570.310. The commission shall notify the individual or legal entity of the reasons for the revocation in writing, by certified mail.

5. A person, or the legal entity or controlling person in the case of an appraisal management company, whose license is revoked under subsection 4 of this section may appeal such revocation to the administrative hearing commission, as provided by chapter 621, within ninety days from the time the commission mails the notice of revocation. A person who fails to do so waives all rights to appeal the revocation.

6. A certification of a state-certified real estate appraiser, a license of a state-licensed real estate appraiser, or a license of an appraisal management company that has been suspended as a result of disciplinary action by the commission shall not be reinstated, and a person, controlling person, or legal entity may not obtain certification as a state-certified real estate appraiser, licensure as a state-licensed real estate appraiser, or licensure as an appraisal management company subsequent to revocation, unless the applicant presents evidence of completion of the continuing education required by section 339.530 during the period of suspension or revocation as well as fulfillment of any other conditions imposed by the commission. Applicants for recertification, relicensure or reinstatement also shall be required to successfully complete the examination for original certification or licensure required by section 339.515 as a condition to reinstatement of certification or licensure, or recertification or relicensure subsequent to revocation.

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(L. 1990 H.B. 1456 § 18, A.L. 1998 H.B. 1601, et al., A.L. 2008 H.B. 2188, A.L. 2012 H.B. 1103)