STATE OF WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING PO Box 9020, Olympia, Washington 98507-9020
REAL ESTATE PLANNING SESSION MINUTES DATE:
TIME: PLACE:
March 26, 2008
9:00 a.m. Bremerton Inn & Suites 4303 Kitsap Way Bremerton, WA 98312
MEMBERS PRESENT: Paul Chiles, Commissioner/Vice-Chair Robert A. Spain Jr., Commissioner George Pilant, Commissioner Catherine Moye’, Commissioner Dan Murphy, Commissioner Suki Bazan, Commissioner MEMBERS NOT PRESENT: Liz Luce, Director/Chair STAFF PRESENT: Lee Malott, Program Administrator Jerry McDonald, Program Assistant Administrator Karen Jarvis, Regulatory Investigations Manager Dolores Casitas, Education Manager Deb Wright, Licensing Manager Art Abrahamson, Audits Manager Gale Mitchell, Administrative Assistant Joan Robinson, Appraiser Professional Licensing Manager CALL TO ORDER: 9:02:42 AM ORDER OF AGENDA: A. Paul Chiles, Commission/Vice-Chair PLANNING SESSION (S) 9:00 a.m.
Commissioner Chiles welcomed and introduced the Mayor of Bremerton, Cary Bozman.
Mayor Bozman discussed the history surrounding Bremerton’s roots and re-development plan. Currently, there are many retirees with lower income and renters which has allowed housing costs to stabilize at lower costs. Mayor Bozman stated there is currently a plan in place to revitalize the City of Bremerton. Construction for a waterfront park is underway. There is a package to build a 34 million dollar tunnel for the ferry traffic. In addition, there will be a new marina, conference center, a new hotel and new city hall. He also stated they have just received confirmation from the Navy that Bremerton’s Museum is one of thirteen in the United States that will be fully funded by the Navy. Mayor Bozman was appreciated by the Real Estate Commission. B. Roll Call Robert A. Spain Jr., Commissioner Suki Bazan, Commissioner Paul Chiles, Commissioner/Vice-Chair George Pilant, Commissioner Catherine Moye’, Commissioner Dan Murphy, Commissioner
9:11:30 AM Liz Luce, Director/Chair-Absent 10:02:07 AM C. 18.85 Re-Write – Where do we go from here? I. Discussion of Implications • Education Concerns – New Courses and New Core • Licensing Concerns • Investigation/Audit Concerns • Review of WACs Jerry McDonald proposed the draft rules be reviewed by staff and sub- committees then submit to the Commission at the September or December meeting for final approval. Jerry indicated the WAC rule changes should be minimal, but there will be changes with the emphasis on the parent-child relationships and with designated broker responsibilities. In addition, there will be some changes to reflect that a designated broker can be a designated broker for more than one firm. The section regarding advertising was left up to the Commission for rule implementation. Jerry McDonald stated we are going to need input from the Commission, staff, and licensees. Jerry asked the Commissioners for input on how to approach these matters. Paul Chiles stated that it is important to review other jurisdictions’ positions on processes such as regulating the advertising. Once there is a conclusion on how other states are handling these issues, then the ideas and drafts must be forwarded to the Commission for review instead of “reinventing the wheel”.
Paul Chiles requested a guideline indicating when these rules will be presented to the Commission for review. Jerry McDonald confirmed that it will be presented to the Commission for consideration and approval at the next Commission meeting in June. Commissioner Pilant asked if there will be a transition course implemented and in place before the law goes into effect on July 1, 2010. Bob Mitchell indicated there will not be a transitional class available before the law goes into effect. 9:12:30 AM • Fingerprinting (Presentation from Mary Haglund) Jerry McDonald invited Mary Haglund to present an in depth process of fingerprinting. There was a long discussion whether the Commission should adopt fingerprinting the licensees every four years vs. every six years. An appeal process for licensees that are denied a license based upon their criminal history was also discussed. Commissioner Chiles suggested that a survey be done on what the other jurisdictions are doing regarding fingerprinting. D. 10:48:39 AM Sub-Committee Assignment/Concerns • Education Commissioner Pilant reviewed the status of sub-committee meetings over the last few months. Two questions were brought before the committee on February 21, 2008. • The first one – Should ARELLO course content certification be required of all courses? • Second- Should the ARELLO course content certification be separate from the distance education certification? Should that be automatically approved for Washington State continuing education clock hours? After brief discussion, it was a unanimous decision by the sub-committee that it should not be required for all courses. After much debate, it was unanimously decided that any courses that have ARELLO course content certification would be automatically approved without Commission review for Washington State continuing education clock hours. There would be no fee reduction. The process would merely be expedited. This recommendation has no rule requirement that needs to be changed. Motion: Any course that is submitted to the Washington State Department of Licensing for continuing education clock hours that has the ARELLO course content certification be automatically approved. Suki Bazan: Seconds Motion Motion Amended and unanimously carried forward to the Commission Meeting at 1:00 PM.
Commissioner Chiles suggested that if the staff finds inconsistencies with the courses that this is brought before Commission for approval. Commissioner Spain recalled that state specifics were not addressed. Commissioner Moye asked a procedural question: Is it appropriate to make a motion during a “planning session” or should the motion be carried over and forwarded in the “Commission Meeting”? Cate Moye asked that the amended motion be brought before the Commission for review. Susan Davis addressed her issues of concern in section 22 of the new proposed law. Distance education powers could be limited if the Director decides to adopt laws for the number of hours for distance education. The Commission did not move to carry this item any further. 11:42:23 AM • Changing Business Practices Cate Moye’ reviewed the committee’s meeting in February. The topic of discussion surrounded a letter brought forward by Annie Fitzsimmons. The issue was dealing with agent discretion regarding the amount of commission. This was essentially an open discussion. There is not a statewide form that is uniformly used for purchase and sale agreements at this time. 11:46:39 AM • Mortgage Commissioner Bazan stated that during the last Commission meeting she inquired about the amount of real estate licensees who are also brokers. The topic of the subcommittee meeting was on predatory lending. The following are statistics on the numbers or active licensees: o Active Brokers is 302 o Inactive pending exams brokers is 60 o Active sales is 1204. Commissioner Bazan questioned that it is a conflict of interest to hold dual licenses. 11:55:32 AM • Newsletter Commissioner Spain stated that the January meeting focused mainly on the funding for the newsletter and the first edition. The Commission commend Glenn Crellin, students, and staff for the newsletter. Commissioner Spain informed the group that the newsletter should be produced quarterly if resources exist. E. Use of Outreach Funds – Ideas (This agenda item was completed at the regular Commission session at 1:00 pm) Jerry McDonald stressed that the Commission requested additional funds for licensees and those funds have been approved. We need to implement a plan on how to utilize them for educating the citizens of Washington State. Any suggestions or ideas are welcome. An open discussion surrounding fund utilization was held. It was suggested that staff present ideas to Commission.
MOTION: To discuss further outreach tools. Motion seconded MOTION CARRIED 1:21:08 PM Paul Chiles: MOTION: To form a Consumer Education Outreach Subcommittee Motion seconded MOTION CARRIED F. Brainstorming for New Ideas (This agenda item was completed at the regular Commission session at 1:00 pm) Bob Mitchell indicated that he met with L&I staff regarding audit compliance that is relative to real estate brokerage companies taking care of their worker’s compensation. There is speculation as to why they are not in compliance. The plan is to get information out to the brokerage agencies so the non-compliance rate will drop. The compliance in audits in real the estate industry rate is high. Bob Mitchell stated that currently they are trying to reach a conclusion why they are not in compliance with audit. Issues from Audience – Open Forum Commissioner Chiles suggested an open discussion on 18.85 rewrite. Lee Malott recommended that updates be posted to the ListServe so that the public can be aware of the updates.
G.
12:05:05 PM Commissioner Chiles adjourned the planning session.
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