
Happy May to each of you. I hope you allhad a wonderful time celebrating the mothers in your lifelast weekend. Later this month, we celebrate Memorial Day. We honor those who have given their lives for our country.As we gather with friends and family to kick off summer, I encourage each of you totake a moment tosolemnlyconsiderthose who did not return from the battlefield and acknowledge the cost of our freedom.
Complete Your RenewalbeforeMemorial Day
The agency willcloseearly on Friday,May28,and remainclosed through Memorial Day, May31.Because of this early closure, all license holderswhoneed to renew a license shouldcomplete all the requirements for renewal as soon as possible to avoid potentialdelays.You can find your renewal education information via thelicense holder searchԻon our website.
Welcome to New Commission Members
Last monthwe welcomedthreenew Commissionersto ǿapp.Broker members, Leslie Lerner and Mark Woodroof, and public member Ben Pena hit the ground running at the May Commission meeting.I welcome their valuable input and look forward to working with them.You can read more about them inourannouncement�. �
Commission Meeting Update
For the first timein over a year, the Commission meeting was held in person at ǿapp headquarters. It wasa big step in the road back to “normal.”The Commission heard fromGaryMaler andDr.Jim Gainesfrom theregarding the economic and real estate outlook. Inshort,as Dr. Gaines said,"the housing market is on fire!” Theonly proposed rules considered and approved at this meeting are draft changes to the Inspectors� Standards of Practice.We have posted themeeting videoԻproposed ruleson the website.I encourage you to take a look at the proposed rules and provide public comments.Keep in mind, we launched anew online portalearlier this year and it is now easier than ever to give us your thoughts.
The next day the Commission held a workshopfocusing on enforcement.During the workshop,theCommission had the opportunity togainadditional knowledgeabout thedisciplinaryprocess.
Legislative Update
The legislative session is headed into its final weeks. Weare watching several bills that could potentiallyimpactthe agency. I know many of you might beinterested in what is proposed, so I thought I would highlight a few bills of interest: �
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�(Smith): Relating to the requirement that certain business entities obtain a license from the Texas Real Estate Commission �
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�(Thompson): Relating to the Texas Real Estate Research Center and the Texas Real Estate Commission. �
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(Deshotel)Relating to the acquisition of real property by an entity with eminent domain authority.
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(Turner)-Relating to the powers and dutiesof property owners associations.
One thing to remember is legislative session is fluid,and none of these bills haveyet reached theGovernor'sdesk.
Versa Replacement Project �
Recently, our IT team started the process to replace the VERSA database system.VERSA is the system of record we use for managing all of our license holder and registrant data. Our staffinteractswith the database every day, in allcorners of our operation.
Weareworking with a vendorto begin the requirements gathering and to establish a scope of work for the new system. Theywill also help us negotiate final pricing for this new database through asolicitationprocess this fall.� Doing the upfront work to ensure the next database fulfills our needs is a top priority.� This database replacement will allow us to advance and improve our servicesfor all of our license holders. We hope to conclude this database project by the end of the fiscal year 2023.
As always, please reach out if our agencycan assist your work. It is important to me that we strike a healthy balance between supporting the industry we serve and protecting consumers.Have a great month.