Hearings on imposition of sanctions against appraisers; judicial review

(a) Before the board shall impose on any appraiser or appraisal management company any sanction permitted by this chapter, it shall provide an opportunity for a hearing for such appraiser or appraisal management company in accordance with Chapter 13 of Title 50, the ‘‘Georgia Administrative Procedure Act.’’ Unless otherwise agreed to by the board, all such hearings shall be held in the county of domicile of the board. (b) If any appraiser, appraisal management company, or applicant fails to appear at any hearing after reasonable notice, the board may proceed to hear the evidence against such appraiser, appraisal management company, or applicant and take action as if such appraiser, appraisal management company, or applicant had been present. A notice of hearing, initial or proposed decision, or final decision of the board in a disciplinary proceeding shall be served upon the appraiser, 387 43-39A-22 appraisal management company, or applicant by personal service or by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery, return receipt requested, to the last known address of record with the board. If such material is returned marked ‘‘unclaimed’’ or ‘‘refused’’ or is undeliverable and if the appraiser, appraisal management company, or applicant cannot, after diligent effort, be located, the real estate commissioner shall be deemed to be the agent for such appraiser, appraisal management company, or applicant for the purposes of this Code section, and service upon the real estate commissioner shall be deemed service upon the appraiser, appraisal management company, or applicant. (c) Any person who has exhausted all administrative remedies available within this chapter and who is aggrieved by a final decision in a contested case is entitled to judicial review in accordance with Chapter 13 of Title 50, the ‘‘Georgia Administrative Procedure Act.’’ Notwithstanding any provision of subsection (b) of Code Section 50-13-19 to the contrary, initial judicial review of a final decision of the board shall be available solely in the superior court of the county of domicile of the board. History. — Code 1981, § 43-39A-21, enacted by Ga. L. 1990, p. 1701, § 1; Ga. L. 1992, p. 1402, § 1; Ga. L. 2000, p. 1527, § 9; Ga. L. 2000, p. 1589, § 3; Ga. L. 2003, p. 370, § 6; Ga. L. 2010, p. 765, § 8/HB 1050. Editor’s notes. — Ga. L. 2000, p. 1589, § 16, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the amendment to subsection (b) is applicable with respect to notices delivered on or after July 1, 2000. 43-39A-22. Investigations; subpoenas; confidentiality; access to records; publication of names of disciplined appraisers and schools; closed meetings. (a) The board may, upon its own motion, and shall, upon the sworn written request of any person, investigate the actions of any appraiser, applicant, appraisal management company, or school approved by the board. Except for investigations of applicants for appraiser classifications, investigations of allegations of fraudulent conduct, or investigations of possible violations of this chapter which have been litigated in the courts or arise from litigation in the courts, the board shall not initiate an investigation on its own motion or upon a sworn written request for investigation unless the act or acts which may constitute a violation of this chapter occurred within five years of the initiation of the investigation. (b) Any person authorized to conduct an investigation on behalf of the board shall have access to and may examine any writings, documents, or other material which may be related to an investigation made upon the order of the board. (c) In the conduct of an authorized investigation, the chairperson of the board or the commissioner may issue subpoenas to compel produc388 43-39A-22 tion of such writings, documents, or material on behalf of the board. After the service of a notice of hearing, the commissioner or chairperson of the board may issue subpoenas to compel production of such writings, documents, or material, either on behalf of the board or at the request of a respondent. The board or the respondent may apply to the superior court of the county in which a person disobeying a subpoena resides for an order requiring compliance. Failure to comply with such an order shall be punishable as for contempt of court. (d) The results of all investigations shall be reported only to the board or to the commissioner and the records of such investigations shall not be subject to subpoena in civil actions. Records of investigations shall be kept by the board and no part of any investigative record shall be released for any purpose other than a hearing before the board or its designated hearing officer, review by another law enforcement agency or lawful licensing authority upon issuance of a subpoena from such agency or authority or at the discretion of the board upon an affirmative vote of a majority of the quorum of the board, review by the appraiser, applicant, or appraisal management company that is the subject of the notice of hearing after its service, review by the board’s legal counsel, or an appeal of a decision by the board to a court of competent jurisdiction; provided, however, if an investigation authorized by this chapter results in the board’s filing a notice of hearing or entering into settlement discussions with a member of the board, the commissioner shall immediately notify the Governor or the Governor’s legal counsel of such action by the board. After service of a notice of hearing, the appraiser, applicant, or appraisal management company that is the subject of the notice of hearing shall have a right to obtain a copy of the investigative record pertaining to the hearing. (e) Whenever the board revokes or suspends for more than 60 days an appraiser classification or a school approval or whenever an appraiser, appraisal management company, or approved school surrenders an appraiser classification or an approval to the board after the board has filed a notice of hearing, the board shall publish the name of such appraiser, appraisal management company, or approved school in its official newsletter. (f ) The board shall have the authority to exclude all persons during the board’s or the staff of the board’s: (1) Deliberations on disciplinary proceedings; (2) Meetings with an appraiser or an applicant or the legal counsel of that appraiser or applicant in which the appraiser or applicant seeks to settle a contested case as provided in Chapter 13 of Title 50, the ‘‘Georgia Administrative Procedure Act’’; and (3) Review of the results of investigations initiated under this Code section. 389 History. — Code 1981, § 43-39A-22, enacted by Ga. L. 1990, p. 1701, § 1; Ga. L. 1992, p. 1402, § 1; Ga. L. 2006, p. 792, § 3/SB 547; Ga. L. 2010, p. 765, § 9/HB 1050; Ga. L. 2011, p. 752, § 43/HB 142; Ga. L. 2019, p. 724, § 8/HB 192. The 2019 amendment, effective July 1, 2019, deleted the proviso at the end of the first sentence of subsection (a), which read: ‘‘; provided, however, that, whenever 43-39A-22.1 a request for investigation involves an appraisal report which varies from a sales, lease, or exchange price by 20 percent or less, or, if the appraiser or appraisal management company is acting as a tax consultant, which varies from the tax assessor’s value by 20 percent or less, the board may in its discretion decline to conduct an investigation’’. 43-39A-22.1. Conviction data defined; check; disclosure. fingerprint records (a) As used in this Code section, the term ‘‘conviction data’’ means a record of a finding or verdict of guilty or plea of guilty or plea of nolo contendere with regard to any crime, regardless of whether an appeal of the conviction has been brought, or a record of a sentencing to first offender treatment without an adjudication of guilt. (b) After the board has opened an investigation authorized by Code Section 43-39A-22, the board shall be authorized to obtain conviction data with respect to an applicant or appraiser who is the subject of such investigation. The board may require any applicant or appraiser who is the subject of an investigation conducted pursuant to Code Section 43-39A-22 and who has been convicted of, pled nolo contendere to, or been granted first offender treatment upon being charged with any criminal offense other than a traffic violation or any traffic violation that involved driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, homicide or feticide by vehicle, fleeing the scene of an accident, attempting to elude a police officer, or impersonating a law enforcement officer to submit to the board two complete sets of classifiable fingerprints of the applicant or appraiser. Upon receipt thereof, the board shall submit both sets of fingerprints to the Georgia Crime Information Center which shall promptly transmit one set of fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a search of bureau records and an appropriate report. The Georgia Crime Information Center shall retain the other set of fingerprints and promptly conduct a search of its own records and records to which it has access. The Georgia Crime Information Center shall notify the board in writing of any derogatory finding, including, but not limited to, any conviction data regarding the fingerprint records check or if there is no such finding. All conviction data received by the board shall be used by it for the exclusive purpose of carrying out its responsibilities under this chapter, shall not be a public record, shall be privileged, and shall not be disclosed to any other person or agency except as provided in Code Section 43-39A-22. History. — Code 1981, § 43-39A-22.1, enacted by Ga. L. 2000, p. 1527, § 10. 390 43-39A-24 43-39A-23. Injunctions.