FHA Appraiser Eligibility Expansion Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1722 To amend the National Housing Act to authorize State-licensed appraisers to conduct appraisals in connection with mortgages insured by the FHA and to ensure compliance with the existing appraiser education and competency requirements, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 5, 2019 Mr. THUNE (for himself, Mr. TESTER, Mr. HOEVEN, Mr. KING, Mr. ROUNDS, and Ms. SMITH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To amend the National Housing Act to authorize State- licensed appraisers to conduct appraisals in connection with mortgages insured by the FHA and to ensure com- pliance with the existing appraiser education and com- petency requirements, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘FHA Appraiser Eligi- 4 bility Expansion Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. APPRAISER STANDARDS. 6 (a) CERTIFICATION OR LICENSING.— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:05 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1722.IS S1722 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1722 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 202(g)(5) of the Na- 1 tional Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1708(g)(5)) is 2 amended by striking subparagraphs (A) and (B) and 3 inserting the following: 4 ‘‘(A) be certified or licensed by the State 5 in which the property to be appraised is located; 6 ‘‘(B) be knowledgeable of the Uniform 7 Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice 8 and the appraisal requirements established by 9 the Federal Housing Administration; 10 ‘‘(C) meet the competency requirements 11 described in the Uniform Standards of Profes- 12 sional Appraisal Practice before accepting an 13 assignment; and 14 ‘‘(D) have demonstrated verifiable edu- 15 cation in the appraisal requirements established 16 by the Federal Housing Administration under 17 this subsection, which shall include the comple- 18 tion of a course or seminar that educates ap- 19 praisers on those appraisal requirements and is 20 provided by the Federal Housing Administra- 21 tion or is approved by the Course Approval Pro- 22 gram of the Appraiser Qualification Board of 23 the Appraisal Foundation or a State appraiser 24 certifying and licensing agency.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:05 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1722.IS S1722 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1722 IS (2) APPLICATION.—Subparagraph (D) of sec- 1 tion 202(g)(5) of the National Housing Act (12 2 U.S.C. 1708(g)(5)), as added by paragraph (1), 3 shall not apply with respect to any appraiser ap- 4 proved by the Federal Housing Administration to 5 conduct appraisals on mortgages insured under title 6 II of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1707 et 7 seq.) on or before the date on which the mortgagee 8 letter or other guidance or regulations take effect 9 under subsection (c)(3). 10 (b) COMPLIANCE WITH VERIFIABLE EDUCATION 11 AND COMPETENCY REQUIREMENTS.—Effective beginning 12 on the date on which the mortgagee letter or other guid- 13 ance or regulations take effect under subsection (c)(3), no 14 appraiser may conduct an appraisal for any mortgage in- 15 sured under title II of the National Housing Act (12 16 U.S.C. 1707 et seq.) unless— 17 (1) the appraiser is in compliance with the re- 18 quirements under subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) 19 section 202(g)(5) of such Act (12 U.S.C. 20 1708(g)(5)), as amended by subsection (a); and 21 (2) if the appraiser was not approved to con- 22 duct such appraisals before the date on which the 23 mortgagee letter or other guidance or regulations 24 take effect under subsection (c)(3), the appraiser is 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:05 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1722.IS S1722 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1722 IS in compliance with subparagraph (D) of such section 1 202(g)(5). 2 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than the 240 days 3 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 4 Housing and Urban Development shall issue a mortgagee 5 letter or other guidance or regulations that shall— 6 (1) implement the amendments made by sub- 7 section (a); 8 (2) clearly set forth all of the specific require- 9 ments under section 202(g)(5) of the National 10 Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1708(g)(5)), as amended by 11 this Act, for approval to conduct appraisals under 12 title II of such Act (12 U.S.C. 1707 et seq.), which 13 shall include— 14 (A) providing that, before the effective 15 date of the mortgagee letter or other guidance 16 or regulations, a demonstration of competency 17 and completion of training that meet the re- 18 quirements under subparagraphs (B), (C), and 19 (D) of such section 202(g)(5), as amended by 20 subsection (a), shall be considered to fulfill the 21 requirements under such subparagraphs; and 22 (B) providing a method for appraisers to 23 demonstrate such prior competency and comple- 24 tion; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:05 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1722.IS S1722 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1722 IS (3) take effect not later than the date that is 1 180 days after the date on which the Secretary 2 issues the mortgagee letter or other guidance or reg- 3 ulations. 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:05 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1722.IS S1722 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS