45:15-16.2a Continuing education required; exceptions.

23 a. The New Jersey Real Estate Commission shall require each natural person licensed as a real estate broker, broker-salesperson or salesperson, as a condition of biennial license renewal pursuant to R.S.45:15-10, to complete not more than 16 hours of continuing education requirements imposed by the commission pursuant to this section and sections 24 through 28 of P.L.2009, c.238 (C.45:15-16.2a through 45:15-16.2f), except that a salesperson licensed with a real estate referral company shall not be required to complete the continuing education requirements as a condition of biennial license renewal. This subsection shall not apply to any real estate broker or broker-salesperson who has been a real estate broker or broker-salesperson for 40 years or more, which shall include any equivalent experience in any other jurisdiction as determined by the commission.

b. The commission shall:

(1) (a) Approve continuing education courses, course providers, and instructors recommended to the commission by the Volunteer Advisory Committee created pursuant to subparagraph (b) of this paragraph. Schools licensed by the commission as real estate schools pursuant to section 47 of P.L.1993, c.51 (C.45:15-10.4) shall be deemed approved providers of continuing education courses. Persons licensed by the commission as real estate instructors pursuant to section 48 of P.L.1993, c.51 (C.45:15-10.5) shall be deemed approved instructors of continuing education courses in core topics as set forth in section 27 of P.L.2009, c.238 (C.45:15-16.2e). Real estate trade associations that qualify under the standards to be established by commission rule as approved providers may offer approved continuing education courses.

(b) There is hereby created a Volunteer Advisory Committee which shall consist of 14 members to be comprised of real estate licensees and other subject matter experts, whose members shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance. One real estate licensee shall be selected upon the recommendation of the President of the Senate and one real estate licensee shall be selected upon the recommendation of the Speaker of the General Assembly. Three members of the advisory committee shall be members of the commission or their designees, and not less than eight of the members, other than the commission members, shall be real estate licensees. Members shall be appointed to effect balanced geographic representation from the central, northern and southern areas of the State, with not less than three members serving from each of these areas at any time on the advisory committee.

Members shall be appointed by the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance no later than 60 days following the enactment date of this act. The first meeting of the advisory committee shall be held no later than 30 days from the date the commission adopts initial regulations for the effectuation of this act.

(2) Confer continuing education credits for courses completed in other states on topics approved by the commission as appropriate for elective courses, provided that such courses have been approved as continuing education courses by the agency exercising regulatory authority over the real estate licensees of another state and that satisfactory evidence of licensees' attendance at and completion of such courses is provided to the commission by the course provider.

(3) Confer continuing education credits for courses completed and offered in this State on topics deemed of a timely nature which have not been granted prior approval by the advisory committee, provided that such courses are advertised prior to the time of offering as not having been approved; that the course provider shall submit such course offering for approval and the course is subsequently approved as provided in subparagraph (a) of paragraph (1) of this subsection; and that satisfactory evidence of licensees' attendance at and completion of such courses is provided to the commission by the course provider.

(4) Set parameters for the auditing and monitoring of course providers.

(5) Establish, by regulation, the amounts of application fees payable by persons seeking approval as continuing education course providers, persons seeking approval of continuing education courses, and persons other than instructors of pre-licensure real estate education courses licensed by the commission pursuant to section 48 of P.L.1993, c.51 (C.45:15-10.5), seeking approval as instructors of continuing education courses. These fees shall be non-refundable and shall be in amounts which do not exceed the costs incurred by the commission to review these applications.

(6) Have the authority to waive continuing education requirements, in whole or in part, on the grounds of illness, emergency, hardship or active duty military service.

(7) Confer continuing education credits upon a person who is licensed by the commission as a real estate instructor or as a broker, broker-salesperson or salesperson for teaching an approved continuing education course offered by an approved provider. Regardless of the number of times during a biennial license term that the same approved course is taught by that person, the person shall receive credit toward the continuing education requirement for the renewal of the person's broker, broker-salesperson or salesperson license, as applicable, only in the number of credit hours conferred upon licensees who attend and complete that course one time during that biennial license term.

L.2009, c.238, s.23; amended 2017, c.200; 2018, c.71, s.13.