H.B. No. 2911

	AN ACT
	rel
	ating to the regulation of real estate inspectors; changing
	fees.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter C, Chapter 1102, Occupations Code, is
	amended by adding Section 1102.1051 to read as follows:
	Sec. 1102.1051.  CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD INFORMATION
	REQUIREMENT FOR LICENSE. (a) The commission shall require that an
	applicant for a license or renewal of an unexpired license submit a
	complete and legible set of fingerprints, on a form prescribed by
	the commission, to the commission or to the Department of Public
	Safety for the purpose of obtaining criminal history record
	information from the Department of Public Safety and the Federal
	Bureau of Investigation.
	(b)  The commission shall refuse to issue a license to or
	renew the license of a person who does not comply with the
	requirement of Subsection (a).
	(c)  The commission shall conduct a criminal history check of
	each applicant for a license or renewal of a license using
	information:
	(1)  provided by the individual under this section; and
	(2)  made available to the commission by the Department
	of Public Safety, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and any
	other criminal justice agency under Chapter 411, Government Code.
	(d)  The commission may:
	(1)  enter into an agreement with the Department of
	Public Safety to administer a criminal history check required under
	this section; and
	(2)  authorize the Department of Public Safety to
	collect from each applicant the costs incurred by the department in
	conducting the criminal history check.
	SECTION 2.  Section 1102.109, Occupations Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	Sec. 1102.109.  ELIGIBILITY FOR PROFESSIONAL INSPECTOR
	LICENSE. To be eligible for a professional inspector license, an
	applicant must:
	(1)  at the time of application have:
	(A)  held a real estate inspector license for at
	least 12 months; and
	(B)  performed at least 175 real estate
	inspections under indirect supervision;
	(2)  submit evidence satisfactory to the commission of
	successful completion of at least 40 [30] classroom hours of core
	real estate inspection courses, in addition to the hours required
	by Section 1102.108[, and at least eight classroom hours related to
	the study of standards of practice, legal issues, or ethics related
	to the practice of real estate inspecting];
	(3)  demonstrate competence based on the examination
	under Subchapter D; and
	(4)  satisfy the commission as to the applicant's
	honesty, trustworthiness, integrity, and competence.
	SECTION 3.  Section 1102.110, Occupations Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	Sec. 1102.110.  ELIGIBILITY OF PREVIOUS LICENSE HOLDERS.
	(a) Notwithstanding Section 1102.108, an applicant is eligible
	for and has satisfied all requirements for a real estate inspector
	license if the applicant:
	(1)  held a real estate inspector license during the
	24-month period preceding the date the application is filed;
	(2)  is sponsored by a professional inspector; [and]
	(3)  satisfies the commission as to the applicant's
	honesty, trustworthiness, and integrity; and
	(4)  submits evidence satisfactory to the commission of
	successful completion of not less than the number of hours of
	continuing education courses that would have been required for the
	applicant to renew the license described by Subdivision (1).
	(b)  Notwithstanding Section 1102.109, an applicant is
	eligible for and has satisfied all requirements for a professional
	inspector license if the applicant:
	(1)  held a professional inspector license during the
	24-month period preceding the date the application is filed; [and]
	(2)  satisfies the commission as to the applicant's
	honesty, trustworthiness, and integrity; and
	(3)  submits evidence satisfactory to the commission of
	successful completion of not less than the number of hours of
	continuing education courses that would have been required for the
	applicant to renew the license described by Subdivision (1).
	SECTION 4.  Section 1102.111(b), Occupations Code, is
	amended to read as follows:
	(b)  Rules adopted under Subsection (a) may not require an
	applicant to:
	(1)  complete more than 320 additional [classroom]
	hours of core real estate inspection courses; [or]
	(2)  complete more than 40 hours of field work, if the
	applicant completes correspondence or other course provided by
	alternative means; or
	(3)  have more than seven years of relevant experience.
	SECTION 5.  Section 1102.114, Occupations Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	Sec. 1102.114.  ISSUANCE OF LICENSE. The commission shall
	issue the appropriate license to an applicant who:
	(1)  meets the required qualifications;
	(2)  pays the fee required by Section 1102.352(a); and
	(3)  submits [offers] proof of financial
	responsibility as required by Section 1102.1141 [that the applicant
	carries liability insurance with a minimum limit of $100,000 per
	occurrence to protect the public against a violation of Subchapter
	G].
	SECTION 6.  Subchapter C, Chapter 1102, Occupations Code, is
	amended by adding Section 1102.1141 to read as follows:
	Sec. 1102.1141.  FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REQUIREMENT. (a)
	An inspector must maintain financial responsibility in the form of:
	(1)  a liability insurance policy with a minimum limit
	of $100,000 per occurrence and an aggregate annual total of at least
	$100,000, and that:
	(A)  is written by an insurer authorized to engage
	in the business of insurance in this state, a risk retention group
	as defined by Chapter 2201, Insurance Code, or an eligible surplus
	lines insurer, as defined by Section 981.002, Insurance Code; and
	(B)  specifically provides for professional
	liability coverage to protect the public against a violation of
	Subchapter G; or
	(2)  a bond or other security accepted by the
	commission.
	(b)  A bond posted as security under Subsection (a)(2) must:
	(1)  be issued by a carrier admitted in this state;
	(2)  be in an amount not less than $100,000;
	(3)  be continuous; and
	(4)  be cancellable by the surety only after the surety
	has provided at least 90 days' written notice to the commission
	before the effective date of the cancellation.
	(c)  Any security provided under this section in a form other
	than a bond must be convertible to cash by the commission for the
	benefit of a person who contracts with an inspector in this state,
	without requiring approval of a court, if the commission determines
	that the inspector has violated Subchapter G. Any amount remaining
	after an inspector's license has expired shall be returned to the
	inspector not later than the 180th day after the date the license
	expires.
	(d)  An inspector who posts a bond or other security under
	this section must designate an unaffiliated third party to handle
	the processing of any claim regarding the bond or other security.
	SECTION 7.  Section 1102.118, Occupations Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	Sec. 1102.118.  CONTACT INFORMATION [CHANGE OF ADDRESS].
	(a) An inspector shall provide the commission with a current
	mailing address, telephone number, and, if available, e-mail
	address.
	(b)  Not later than the 30th day after the date of a change in
	the mailing address, telephone number, or e-mail address of an
	inspector [changes the inspector's place of business], the
	inspector shall notify the commission of the change and pay any
	[the] required fee.
	SECTION 8.  Section 1102.153, Occupations Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	Sec. 1102.153.  DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION. A license
	applicant who does not satisfy the examination requirement before
	the first anniversary of [within six months after] the date the
	application is filed must submit a new application and pay another
	examination fee to be eligible for examination.
	SECTION 9.  Section 1102.155(b), Occupations Code, is
	amended to read as follows:
	(b)  An applicant who fails the examination three
	consecutive times [in connection with the same application] may not
	apply for reexamination or submit a new license application unless
	[before six months] after the date of the third failed examination
	the applicant completes additional educational requirements as
	prescribed by the commission and submits evidence satisfactory to
	the commission of successful completion of those requirements.
	SECTION 10.  Section 1102.202, Occupations Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	Sec. 1102.202.  NOTICE OF LICENSE EXPIRATION. Not later
	than the 31st day before the expiration date of a person's license,
	the commission shall provide notice of the expiration [send] to the
	person [at the person's last known address according to the
	commission's records written notice of the license expiration].
	SECTION 11.  Section 1102.203, Occupations Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	Sec. 1102.203.  RENEWAL OF LICENSE; INFORMATION REQUIRED.
	(a) A person may renew an unexpired license by paying the required
	renewal fee to the commission before the expiration date of the
	license and providing proof of financial responsibility [liability
	insurance] as required by Section 1102.1141 [1102.114(3)].
	(a-1)  A person whose license has been expired for 90 days or
	less may renew the license by paying to the commission a fee equal
	to 1-1/2 times the required renewal fee.  If a license has been
	expired for more than 90 days but less than six months, the person
	may renew the license by paying to the commission a fee equal to two
	times the required renewal fee.
	(b)  If the person's license has been expired for six months
	or longer [expires], the person may not renew the license. The
	person may obtain a new license by submitting to reexamination, if
	required, and complying with the requirements and procedures for
	obtaining an original license.
	(c)  Each applicant for renewal of a license must disclose to
	the commission whether the applicant has:
	(1)  entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to a
	felony; or
	(2)  been convicted of a felony and the time for appeal
	has elapsed or the judgment or conviction has been affirmed on
	appeal.
	(d)  The disclosure under Subsection (c) must be provided
	even if an order has granted community supervision suspending the
	imposition of the sentence.
	SECTION 12.  Section 1102.402(c), Occupations Code, is
	amended to read as follows:
	(c)  A person is not eligible for a license until the person
	has reimbursed the commission [repaid] in full for any [the] amount
	paid on the person's behalf from the real estate inspection
	recovery fund or the real estate recovery trust account under
	Subchapter M, Chapter 1101 [on the person's account], plus interest
	at the legal rate.
	SECTION 13.  Sections 1102.252 and 1102.253, Occupations
	Code, are repealed.
	SECTION 14.  (a)  Sections 1102.1051 and 1102.1141,
	Occupations Code, as added by this Act, and Sections 1102.109,
	1102.110, 1102.111, 1102.114, 1102.153, 1102.155, and 1102.402,
	Occupations Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to an
	application for an inspector license submitted to the Texas Real
	Estate Commission on or after the effective date of this Act. An
	application for a license submitted before that date is governed by
	the law in effect on the date the application was submitted, and the
	former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
	(b)  Sections 1102.203 and 1102.402, Occupations Code, as
	amended by this Act, and Sections 1102.1051 and 1102.1141,
	Occupations Code, as added by this Act, apply only to the renewal of
	an inspector license that expires on or after the effective date of
	this Act. A license that expires before that date is governed by
	the law in effect on the date the license expires, and the former
	law is continued in effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 15.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 2911 was passed by the House on April
	25, 2013, by the following vote:  Yeas 112, Nays 19, 2 present, not
	voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
	No. 2911 on May 22, 2013, by the following vote:  Yeas 116, Nays 29,
	2 present, not voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 2911 was passed by the Senate, with
	amendments, on May 20, 2013, by the following vote:  Yeas 27, Nays
	4.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	APPROVED: __________________
	Date
	__________________
	Governor