Overview

Title

An Act To establish a policy regarding appraisal and valuation services for real property for a transaction over which the Secretary of the Interior has jurisdiction, and for other purposes.

ELI5 AI

The Accelerating Appraisals and Conservation Efforts Act is a rule that helps people who figure out the value of land do their job all over the country without needing to get special permission from every state. It also asks for a yearly check-up to see if this makes things quicker and easier and shares information with everyone!

Summary AI

The Accelerating Appraisals and Conservation Efforts Act or the AACE Act (H.R. 5443) aims to streamline the process of appraising real estate for transactions overseen by the Secretary of the Interior. It allows real estate appraisers who are licensed in any one state to work on appraisals in any state for transactions under the Secretary's authority. The bill mandates that a report be submitted to Congress annually, assessing the impact of this policy on efficiency and suggesting improvements if needed. Furthermore, it ensures public access to appraisal policies applied by the Department of the Interior.

Published

2024-12-21
Congress: 118
Session: 2
Chamber: JOINT
Status: Enrolled Bill
Date: 2024-12-21
Package ID: BILLS-118hr5443enr

Bill Statistics

Size

Sections:
2
Words:
1,067
Pages:
3
Sentences:
23

Language

Nouns: 314
Verbs: 78
Adjectives: 92
Adverbs: 12
Numbers: 31
Entities: 69

Complexity

Average Token Length:
4.52
Average Sentence Length:
46.39
Token Entropy:
4.90
Readability (ARI):
26.70

AnalysisAI

The proposed legislation, known formally as the "Accelerating Appraisals and Conservation Efforts Act" or the "AACE Act," aims to streamline the process of appraisal and valuation services for real property transactions overseen by the Department of the Interior. The Act introduces provisions that allow appraisers licensed or certified in one state to conduct work for federal transactions across all states, aiming to enhance the efficiency of property appraisals linked to conservation efforts.

General Summary of the Bill

The AACE Act seeks to establish a uniform policy concerning the use of appraisers for federal real property transactions. The key provision is that appraisers need only be certified or licensed in a single state to conduct their work on such transactions nationwide. This is intended to expedite the appraisal process, particularly for conservation-related real estate deals, by increasing the pool of available appraisers.

The Department of the Interior is also tasked with submitting annual reports to Congress detailing the appraisal services, comparing workflows before and after the enactment of this policy. Additionally, the department must make relevant policies and procedural documents available online within 90 days.

Significant Issues

Several significant concerns arise from this legislation. Firstly, permitting non-Federal appraisers from one state to conduct appraisals nationwide could lead to inconsistent appraisal standards. Different states may have varying appraisal criteria, risking disparities in evaluations. Also, there's a lack of concrete mechanisms to determine when a non-Federal appraiser can be used, potentially leading to misuse.

The annual reporting requirement to Congress lacks penalties for non-compliance or incentives for timely submission, possibly leading to delays. Furthermore, while the bill mandates posting policies online, it does not address how to protect sensitive information, raising data protection concerns.

Additionally, the term "assignment qualified" needs clearer definition, and the financial implications of employing non-Federal versus Federal appraisers are not thoroughly explored.

Impact on the Public

For the general public, this bill could have positive implications. By potentially increasing the efficiency and speed of property appraisals, land transactions, particularly those aimed at conservation, could proceed more swiftly, thereby accelerating conservation efforts. In turn, this could contribute positively to environmental protection and land management.

However, the risk of inconsistent appraisal standards could have broader effects, potentially affecting property values and market stability if appraisals are not uniformly reliable.

Impact on Specific Stakeholders

For appraisers, the bill could open up national opportunities, allowing them to work on federal transactions outside their initial licensing state. However, this could also lead to competition favoring appraisers from states with less stringent certification processes.

The Department of the Interior could benefit from increased flexibility in hiring appraisers, potentially leading to faster project completions. Yet, the department may face challenges ensuring the consistent quality and objectivity of appraisals across different jurisdictions.

Congress is another stakeholder with an increased oversight role due to the reporting requirement, although the lack of enforcement mechanisms could diminish the effectiveness of such reports.

In conclusion, while the AACE Act aims to streamline appraisal services for federal transactions, its implementation would require careful attention to avoid potential pitfalls related to appraisal consistency, administrative enforcement, and data protection.

Issues

  • The bill allows a non-Federal covered appraiser to perform appraisal services in states where they are not certified under certain conditions, leading to potential inconsistent appraisal standards across different states, as outlined in Section 2, subsections (a) and (b).

  • There is no clear mechanism to determine or verify the conditions under which a non-Federal covered appraiser can be used, as specified in Section 2, subsection (b)(2), which might lead to potential misuse or exploitation of the system.

  • There are no penalties for non-compliance or incentives for the timely submission of the mandatory annual report to Congress, as described in Section 2, subsection (c), potentially leading to delays or omissions in reporting.

  • The public availability mandate in Section 2, subsection (e) could lead to risks of exposing confidential material, as it requires the Department to make policies and documents available online but does not address data protection or sensitive information management.

  • The term 'assignment qualified' in Section 2, subsection (b)(2)(B) is not clearly defined, leading to potential ambiguities and interpretations that could affect the implementation of the bill's provisions.

  • The provision allowing a covered appraiser to be licensed or certified in only one state, as mentioned in Section 2, could potentially lead to favoritism towards specific states or appraisers, impacting equitable access to appraisal services.

  • The potential financial implications of hiring non-Federal covered appraisers versus Federal appraisers are not assessed in Section 2, possibly leading to unforeseen expenses.

Sections

Sections are presented as they are annotated in the original legislative text. Any missing headers, numbers, or non-consecutive order is due to the original text.

1. Short title Read Opens in new tab

Summary AI

The first section of the Act states that it can be referred to as either the "Accelerating Appraisals and Conservation Efforts Act" or simply the "AACE Act".

2. Appraisal and valuation services for real property Read Opens in new tab

Summary AI

The section outlines that appraisers for real estate must be licensed or certified in at least one state to work on federal transactions anywhere in the U.S. It also requires the Department of the Interior to report annually on appraisal services, maintain public access to relevant policies, and ensures existing federal and state laws remain applicable except where noted.