Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce, to which was referred H.R. No. 153 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this resolution is to request the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) to allow on-line courses from accredited institutions to count toward satisfying the State's real estate appraiser certification and licensing requirements.

DCCA commented on this resolution.

Your Committee finds that currently, on-line courses will not satisfy the educational requirement for licensure of real estate appraisers, since rules adopted by DCCA require that the applicant demonstrate a certain number of "classroom hours," and specifically exclude correspondence courses and video or remote television offerings.

Your Committee finds that the rules exclude these types of courses because the Appraisal Qualifications Board (AQB) of the Appraisal Foundation, the federal agency that oversees state licensing of real estate appraisers, did not provide sufficient guidance or direction that would have allowed DCCA to recognize these courses in its rules. However, AQB's updated interpretations of real property appraiser qualification criteria now provide that guidance and permit DCCA to amend its rules to recognize on-line courses.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of H.R. No. 153 and recommends that it be referred to the Committee on Finance.