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NEBRASKA REAL ESTATE COMMISSION January 19, 2000Ramada Inn Airport Concorde Room Lincoln, NE
Chairperson Scott Moore convened a Meeting of the Nebraska Real Estate Commission at 9:10 a.m. on January 19, 2000, in the Concorde Room of the Ramada Inn (Airport), located at 1101 West Bond Street in Lincoln, Nebraska. All of the members of the Real Estate Commission were present except for Commissioner Landow, who was absent and excused. Also present were Director Les Tyrrell, Deputy Director for Enforcement Terry Mayrose, and Administrative Assistant Heidi Burklund, Abbie Widger, Special Assistant Attorney General and Counsel to the Commission, was present for the Hearing and the Legislative Matters. Jim Titus, Special Assistant Attorney General and Counsel to the Commission, was present for the Stipulation and Consent Order. Notice of Meeting (Adopt Agenda) Director Tyrrell presented a Public Notice and Proofs of Publication thereof relating to this Meeting, all of which are attached to and made a part of these Minutes. Chairperson Moore reported that all Commissioners had been notified of the Meeting simultaneously, in writing, and that a proposed Tentative Agenda accompanied the notification. Chairperson Moore pointed out to those in attendance that a APublic Copy@ of the materials being used during the Meeting was available to the public on the Counsel table in the Meeting Room, and that the procedures followed were in accordance with the Open Meetings Law. Chairperson Moore asked that guests sign the guest list.Director Tyrrell noted that Agenda Items 11, 13g, and 13h had been updated, and Items 4a, 13i, and 14d had been added since the Tentative Agenda was mailed. After review of the Final Agenda, a motion was made by Nigro and seconded by Wiebusch to adopt the Final Agenda as presented. Motion carried with Fletcher, Hansen, Moline, Nigro, Wiebusch, and Moore voting aye, with Landow not participating or voting, being absent and excused. Minutes of December 14, 1999 The Minutes of the Commission Meeting held on December 14, 1999, were considered. After review, a motion was made by Fletcher and seconded by Nigro to approve the Minutes as presented. Motion carried with Fletcher, Hansen, Moline, Nigro, Wiebusch, and Moore voting aye, with Landow not participating or voting, being absent and excused. Receipts and Expenditures Reports for December Director Tyrrell presented the Receipts and Expenditures Report for December 1999. A copy of said Report is attached to and made a part of these Minutes. Director Tyrrell noted the following: Receipts Category 7534, Application Fees, shows a DAS credit error that should have been applied to Category 7532, Examination Fees; and Categories 7516 and 7517, Broker and Salesperson Renewal Fees, are on track. In Expenditures, Category 4271, Repair and Maintenance of Office Equipment, reflects an early billing and payment for the typewriter maintenance contract; Category 4272, Repair and Maintenance of Motor Vehicles, shows a payment for repairs due to a Trust Account Examiner being run off the road by a truck; Categories 4414, Education Services, and 4731, State-Owned Transportation, reflect payments for October and November; and Category 4711, Board and Lodging, shows expenditures for the Investigator Workshop and a late reimbursement for the ARELLO Meeting in Savannah. The Cash Fund Balance as of December 31, 1999, was $624,008.28, which compared to a Cash Fund Balance of $605,734.82 on December 31, 1998. Commissioner Moline asked if changes were made to the budget if additional expenses were approved. Director Tyrrell said no, additional money can be spent, but the budget is set for the year unless there is some extraordinary expense. Following discussion, a motion was made by Fletcher and seconded by Wiebusch to file the December Receipts and Expenditures Report for audit. Motion carried with Fletcher, Hansen, Moline, Nigro, Wiebusch, and Moore voting aye, with Landow not participating or voting, being absent and excused. Renewal Report Director Tyrrell presented a Renewal Report, which showed renewals as of January 18, 2000. A copy of said Report is attached to and made a part of these Minutes. Director Tyrrell noted that, as of January 18, 93.9% of brokers and 89.1% of salespeople renewed their licenses for 2000. The numbers are very close to those budgeted. No action was necessary on this Report. Non-Resident Licenses and Resident Licenses Issued to Persons Holding Licenses in Other States This Report, a copy of which is attached to and made a part of these Minutes, was presented by Director Tyrrell and reported to be in order. After review, a motion was made by Moline and seconded by Fletcher to ratify issuance of the licenses as set forth in the Report. Motion carried with Fletcher, Hansen, Moline, Nigro, Wiebusch, and Moore voting aye, with Landow not participating or voting, being absent and excused. Examination Report - December Director Tyrrell presented a Report relating to the Real Estate Examinations administered during December 1999. A copy of said Report is attached to and made a part of these Minutes. After review, a motion was made by Nigro and seconded by Wiebusch to ratify the December Report for the purpose of issuing licenses. Motion carried with Fletcher, Hansen, Moline, Nigro, Wiebusch, and Moore voting aye, with Landow not participating or voting, being absent and excused. Real Estate Education Matters Pre-License Instructor Approval Director Tyrrell presented for ratification the Pre-License Instructor Approval Report, which listed approvals for six pre-license instructors. A copy of said Report is attached to and made a part of these Minutes. After discussion, a motion was made by Fletcher and seconded by Nigro to ratify the Report. Motion carried with Fletcher, Hansen, Moline, Nigro, Wiebusch, and Moore voting aye, with Landow not participating or voting, being absent and excused. Continuing Education Activity Approval Director Tyrrell presented for ratification the Continuing Education Activity Approval Report, which listed approvals for three continuing education activities. A copy of said Report is attached to and made a part of these Minutes. Commissioner Fletcher asked about the AFor Rent Magazine@ activity. Director Tyrrell said an instructor was coming to Omaha to conduct the activity.After discussion, a motion was made by Wiebusch and seconded by Moline to ratify the Report. Motion carried with Fletcher, Hansen, Moline, Nigro, Wiebusch, and Moore voting aye, with Landow not participating or voting, being absent and excused. Continuing Education Instructor Approval Director Tyrrell presented for ratification the Continuing Education Instructor Approval Report, which listed approvals for four continuing education instructors. A copy of said Report is attached to and made a part of these Minutes. After discussion, a motion was made by Moline and seconded by Hansen to ratify the Report. Motion carried with Fletcher, Hansen, Moline, Nigro, Wiebusch, and Moore voting aye, with Landow not participating or voting, being absent and excused. Pending Sworn Complaints and Investigative Matters Director Tyrrell presented a Summary Report of the pending complaints, which included a list of licensees presently under disciplinary action or on appeal. A copy of said Report is attached to and made a part of these Minutes. No action was necessary on this Report. The following Sworn Complaints and Investigative Matters were presented to the Commission:
Items B, C, D, and G were not presented, as the Commissioners did not receive the Investigative Reports in time to review them prior to the Meeting. The items will be presented at the next Meeting. Show Cause Hearing January 19 - 10:30 a.m. - Complaint #98-036, Commission vs. Roger Eugene Rader A Show Cause Hearing was held at 10:29 a.m. on January 19, in the matter of the Order dated November 30, 1998, with regard to Complaint #98-036. Abbie Widger, Special Assistant Attorney General and Counsel to the Commission, appeared for the Complainant. Respondent Roger Eugene Rader represented himself. Counsel Widger reviewed the previous findings of fact and the provisions of the original Stipulation and Consent Order. Counsel Widger also outlined the alleged violations of the original Order which had occurred in the past year. Counsel Widger presented 10 Exhibits and called 3 witnesses, including Mr. Rader. Mr. Rader emphasized that he had been cooperative with the Commission, and had incurred considerable expense over the past year to get his bookkeeping in order. He also noted that none of his customers or clients had lost money, as he had replaced the money missing from his trust account with his personal funds. Mr. Rader indicated his books were current as of the beginning of the current week. Mr. Rader presented no Exhibits and called no witnesses. At 11:25 a.m. on January 19, Chairperson Moore declared a brief recess, and reconvened the Meeting and Hearing at 11:35 a.m. At 12:58 p.m., Chairperson Moore declared the information-gathering portion of the Hearing concluded. A motion was made by Wiebusch and seconded by Moline that the Respondent be found guilty of violating each of the allegations in the Order to Show Cause. Commissioner Wiebusch said that, from the discussion and the evidence presented, the facts showed that the original Order was violated. Commissioner Moline concurred. After deliberations ended, a roll call vote was taken. Motion carried with Fletcher, Hansen, Moline, Wiebusch, and Moore voting aye, with Nigro voting nay, and with Landow not participating or voting, being absent and excused. Chairperson Moore reviewed the options available to the Commission. A motion was made by Fletcher and seconded by Hansen to extend the suspension served on probation, as specified in the original Order, to end on December 31, 2001. Commissioner Fletcher noted that it had taken a year to get the books balanced. It appeared that Mr. Rader =s intent is to stay on top of things, now that they are straightened out, and that the CPA firm would continue to review his bookkeeping.Commissioner Hansen concurred. He felt that a full year was way too long to take to balance the books, but that the CPA said that people were in place to keep the books accurate from this point forward. Commissioner Moline asked if the Commission should specify when the Examiners would visit Mr. Rader, perhaps every 90 days. Chairperson Moore noted that timelines were not specified in the Orders to allow staff to address the situation appropriately. Commissioner Wiebusch said she would not want to wait 90 days before an Examiner visit. Commissioner Hansen noted that Examiners had been there five times in the past year. Commissioner Moline said that, with the books balanced, it appeared that Mr. Rader was ready to go. Commissioner Wiebusch referred to Commissioner Fletcher =s statement that the CPA accountants would continue to review Mr. Rader=s books. She did not think that was accurate, and said she wanted the Examiners to conduct an examination sooner than in 90 days.Commissioner Moline clarified that he had not intended to amend Commissioner Fletcher =s motion, but was just asking if the Commission could specify when the Examiners would visit.Chairperson Moore said that it seemed to him that Mr. Rader was not a bad man, and not an evil man. It appeared that Mr. Rader had cooperated with staff, but questioned how reasonable it was that it took a year to balance the books. Commissioner Moline said that, as an accountant, he felt a year was too long. He felt he could have balanced the books in one afternoon, and that Mr. Rader could have bird-dogged the accountants to get it done sooner. He acknowledged that learning new software could be difficult. Commissioner Moline said he was willing allow Mr. Rader to go forward from this point. A roll call vote was taken. Motion carried with Fletcher, Hansen, Moline, Nigro, and Wiebusch voting aye, with Moore voting nay, and with Landow not participating or voting, being absent and excused. With the consent of the Respondent, Chairperson Moore directed Counsel Widger to prepare the Order. The Hearing was adjourned at 1:10 p.m. Presentation of Stipulation and Consent Order Complaint #1999-032 - Diane and Larry Overman vs. Douglas Emorey Forbes Counsel Titus presented a Stipulation and Consent Order in the matter of Complaint #1999-032, Diane and Larry Overman vs. Douglas Emorey Forbes. A copy of said Order is attached to and made a part of these Minutes. Prior to discussion of this matter, Commissioner Moline recused himself, thereby nullifying any potential conflict of interest. Counsel Titus reviewed the situation, which involved failure to disclose an adverse material fact, and failure to provide a written disclosure statement when the licensee had knowledge that the Seller Property Condition Disclosure Statement was not accurate. The Stipulation and Consent Order specified a censure against Mr. Forbes = license, and three hours of additional continuing education on disclosure.Commissioner Wiebusch said that, if the Commission agreed to the Stipulation and Consent Order, it was essentially telling the licensee, ADon=t do it again.@ Commissioner Hansen noted that, with the past few disclosure actions, the Commission had decided on censure even if information was intentionally left off. Commissioner Nigro said that those situations were different, because the sellers left the forms blank, and the agents did not know.Commissioner Nigro asked when the parties found out that the information was not correct. Counsel Titus clarified that Mr. Forbes found out in January 1999, but that the Overmans did not find out until May 1999. The transaction never closed, because of this and other disclosure issues. Commissioner Hansen asked if Mr. Forbes was the person who told the Overmans about the problem. Counsel Titus said that the Overmans found out by chatting with the neighbors of the property. Commissioner Hansen asked how the Orders were negotiated with the Respondents, and on what basis the provisions were decided. Counsel Titus said that staff recommendations and past Commission decisions were used. Director Tyrrell noted that the Order originally referred separately to each violation, and that during negotiations with Mr. Forbes = attorney, it was decided to reference only Title 299 NAC, Ch. 5-003.20. Commissioner Hansen noted that, if the information was intentionally omitted from the Seller Property Condition Disclosure Statement and the licensee found out about it, disclosure was required.After discussion, a motion was made by Hansen and seconded by Wiebusch to enter into the Stipulation and Consent Order as presented. Director Tyrrell reviewed past Commission actions, and said that staff felt this Order was consistent with those actions. Chairperson Moore asked for details on the situations where more severe action was taken. Director Tyrrell reviewed them as best as his memory allowed. Commissioner Fletcher said he supported the Order, and that it was consistent with past Commission decisions. Chairperson Moore concurred. Commissioners Nigro and Wiebusch asked the other Commissioners to explain their reasoning. Commissioner Hansen said that the same facts would be presented if a Hearing were held, and noted that the previous cases with more severe penalties were more serious situations. Commissioner Wiebusch said that this case involved a new licensee, so it probably would not happen again. A vote was taken on the pending motion. Motion carried with Fletcher, Hansen, Nigro, Wiebusch, and Moore voting aye, with Moline not participating or voting, having recused himself, thereby nullifying any potential conflict of interest, and with Landow not participating or voting, being absent and excused. A discussion was held as a result of the previous discussion on the Stipulation and Consent Order regarding review of the Seller Property Condition Disclosure Statement by licensees. After discussion, it was determined that the review issue be placed on the February Agenda for a complete discussion. Website Demonstration and Approval Monica Wade, Finance Officer, and Tim Erickson from Nebraska On-Line demonstrated the proposed Commission website. Ms. Wade reported that basic information is on the website now, and that enhancements can be made in the future. Director Tyrrell noted the statute index, and how clicking on a reference would connect a person directly to that citation. Commissioner Hansen asked if disciplinary actions were available on the website. Director Tyrrell said they were not at this time, and that the Commission would need to decide what type of information to include. Commissioner Wiebusch asked if application materials and procedures were available on the website. Mr. Erickson demonstrated that section. Commissioner Moline asked if all forms were available, and Ms. Wade said yes. Commissioner Moline asked if forms were submitted on-line. Ms. Wade said that was not yet available, but people can print the forms they need and mail them in. Commissioner Wiebusch asked if each licensee =s continuing education history was available. Ms. Wade indicated that lists of courses and information on CE requirements were available, but not each person=s individual history.Commissioner Hansen asked if Commission Meeting Minutes would be available. Director Tyrrell said the Minutes would be posted after being approved by the Commission. Notices of upcoming Meetings and the agenda for the next Meeting would also be available. Commissioner Moline asked if errors and omissions insurance forms were available. Director Tyrrell said yes. Commissioner Moline asked if the specifics of the Commission-offered policy could be posted. Director Tyrrell said yes. Commissioner Moline asked if there was a Commission e-mail address posted. Director Tyrrell said yes, that each staff person has their own e-mail address, and the e-mail links in the various subject areas go to the appropriate staff person. Commissioner Moline asked if the Commissioners = e-mail addresses were listed, and Director Tyrrell said no. Chairperson Moore said he felt the Commissioners= addresses should be posted, and that it would be handy to have a single button that would send an e-mail to all Commissioners.Commissioner Moline asked if there would be a Commissioner-only section, where Commissioners could share thoughts on upcoming issues. Chairperson Moore said that might be a violation of the Public Meetings Law. Director Tyrrell clarified that it could be considered the equivalent of electronic meetings, which would not be allowed under the Public Meetings Law. Commissioner Wiebusch asked for the website address. Mr. Erickson said it was www.nol.org/home/nrec. Mr. Erickson noted that it is password-protected right now, and could go public whenever the Commission wanted. Chairperson Moore noted that the website could be accessed from the State of Nebraska home page, and that address is easier to remember. Director Tyrrell noted the address is also listed in the ARELLO directory. Mr. Erickson said the website will be listed under the Nebraska On-Line AWhat=s New@ feature for 30 days, which was one of the services Nebraska On-Line provides. Other services included the free website; free staff training; free scanning; handling of First National and cybercash credit card payments; and forms and applications, with credit card payments, custom-built to go directly into a database. Mr. Erickson noted that his phone number is 471-2807, and that information is available at www. nol.org.Chairperson Moore asked if the list of licensees was available yet. Director Tyrrell said the Commission would have to decide what information they wanted to release for public information. Chairperson Moore said all the Commission =s information was public information. Director Tyrrell clarified that Social Security numbers and similar items are not public information. Commissioner Wiebusch asked if just name and location would be posted. Director Tyrrell said that staff had discussed posting each licensee=s name, license type, license status, business address, and phone number when available. Eventually, licensees will be able to check their own continuing education history, and the public will be able to check on complaints. Complaint information is also published in the Commission Comment, and some back issues will also be posted. Director Tyrrell noted that complaint information goes back at least 30 years, and may not all be relevant. Chairperson Moore asked if the complaint information was available in the database. Director Tyrrell said that only complaints since the database was implemented, i.e., since 1999, was in the database. Chairperson Moore asked if a field was available to indicate disciplinary action. Director Tyrrell said staff would have to go back and enter the information, and he was not sure how far back historical information could be added.Commissioner Hansen asked how staff currently check for past disciplinary action. Director Tyrrell said that the history file is a system of cross-referenced index cards which show if a complaint was filed, and whether it was dismissed or disciplinary action was taken. Chairperson Moore asked if there was a way to just flag a licensee =s computer record. Commissioner Hansen said that only disciplinary actions needed to be flagged. Chairperson Moore agreed, and said that further details could be obtained from staff if needed. It was the consensus of the Commission that licensee records be flagged if disciplinary action had been taken, and that the public could contact the Commission for additional information if needed.Commissioner Wiebusch asked about processing cybercash. Chairperson Moore said that there is a 1 2% transaction fee for credit cards, which adds up quickly. Chairperson Moore noted that electronic transfers of money will be available in the near future. Mr. Erickson said that Nebraska On-Line can capture digital signatures. He noted that the transfer fee of 12%, which the State Treasurer had negotiated, was a very good deal. Director Tyrrell said that it was probably the best deal in the country right now, and noted that there was also a Aswipe@ fee of approximately 54 per swipe for using the machine most retail stores use. Mr. Erickson noted that some state offices only allow credit card payment on line. Commissioner Hansen said it would have to also be accepted in the office. Director Tyrrell reported that, if all receipts had been processed by credit card since July 1, 1999, the 12% fee would have amounted to $9780.00. For all transactions in a year, the fee would be approximately $12,000.00. Commissioner Hansen noted it would be highly unlikely that all transactions would be done by credit card.Chairperson Moore summed up the Commission =s priorities for the website: to have the database accessible within 60 days; to allow licensees to look up their own continuing education records; and to have on-line renewals by the end of this year. It was the consensus of the Commission to flag licensee records if there was disciplinary action taken in the past five years, and have people call the office for additional information if needed; and to not enter past disciplinary actions into the database, just continue to enter them as they come in, so that the database will contain disciplinary records from 1999 forward. Director Tyrrell said it may be possible to download information from the ARELLO Disciplinary Data Bank for actions taken prior to 1999.Commissioner Wiebusch said she commended the website so far, and would like to make it available to the public as soon as possible. Chairperson Moore asked how soon it could be available. Director Tyrrell said that, if all the current material was updated by February 1, the website could be available by February 14. Mr. Erickson noted that Nebraska On-Line would want to do lots of quality checking on the website before it was made available, to ensure that all links went where they were supposed to. It was the consensus of the Commission to proceed with the website as demonstrated, and to add features as they are ready. Approval of Travel to 2000 Regularly-Attended Meetings Director Tyrrell presented an Exhibit entitled AEstimated 2000 Conference Expenses.@ A copy of said Exhibit is attached to and made a part of these Minutes.Commissioner Moline asked if these expenditures had been budgeted. Director Tyrrell said they had, and that if needed, money can be moved on the Budget Status Reports. Chairperson Moore said that may be necessary if all Commissioners went to every Meeting. He noted that this was blanket approval for these 4 items. After discussion, a motion was made by Moline and seconded by Hansen to approve the travel of applicable staff and Commissioners for these Meetings. Motion carried with Fletcher, Hansen, Moline, Nigro, Wiebusch, and Moore voting aye, with Landow not participating or voting, being absent and excused. Legislative Matters Director Tyrrell presented information regarding legislation under consideration that may affect the Real Estate Commission. Agenda Items A-F were carried over from last year. LBs 918, 1062, and 1120 were new bills this year. LB 918 would implement the proposed Time Share Act amendments, as discussed at previous Meetings. LB 1120 would create a separate Board to license home inspectors. LB 1062 would allow real estate licensees to hire unlicensed people to make their initial contact with potential clients. Director Tyrrell noted a number of potential conflicts between LB 1062 and current real estate laws, rules, and regulations, and used the example of cold calls. The unlicensed cold caller could call homeowners, and ask if they were interested in selling their homes. If a homeowner said yes, the cold caller would give the name and number to the licensee/employer for further discussion. If the homeowner showed some interest, and asked the cold caller what services the licensee could provide, the cold caller would be prohibited from discussing what types of services the licensee could perform for the homeowner. It seemed unlikely that a cold caller would, in real life, refuse to provide any additional information to an interested homeowner. Compensation raised another issue regarding enforcement. Director Tyrrell noted that additional proposed language on page 6, starting on line 24, was superfluous and would confuse the compensation issue even further. Counsel Widger noted that the agency brochure, by law, had to be presented at the first substantial contact with a client or customer. Commissioner Hansen noted that cold calling may not be the only situation where unlicensed people were making the initial contact. Unlicensed people could prospect by walking through a neighborhood, knocking on doors, and asking homeowners if they would be interested in selling. Commissioner Hansen asked for clarification regarding presenting agency forms at the first substantial contact. Director Tyrrell said that, if a homeowner started asking questions of the unlicensed person, that could easily become the first substantial contact with the homeowner. Commissioner Moline said that, in everyday practice, it would be bad business practice to abruptly cut off conversations with potential clients. He thought this legislation would create bad policy, and asked if it would be inappropriate for the Commission to oppose it. Chairperson Moore said that, as a general rule, he felt that the role of the Commission was to enforce policy rather than to make it, but noted that some agencies do take a stance on legislation which may affect them. Commissioner Moline asked if legislators ever wanted input from affected agencies. Chairperson Moore said that agencies usually remain neutral on policy, but that there were exceptions. Commissioner Moline also noted that the unlicensed people would undoubtedly be paid a commission on the prospects they found, and that would be an undisclosed commission in the real estate transaction. Director Tyrrell said that an Arizona firm had recently contacted Nebraska licensees about having unlicensed people in Arizona make cold calls in Nebraska. Commissioner Wiebusch said she had been contacted by a Texas firm, and said that the issue needed to be addressed. A motion was made by Hansen and seconded by Moline to oppose LB 1062. Commissioner Hansen said that allowing unlicensed people to infringe on licensed activities by calling to obtain listings would confuse the public even more. He did not think this legislation would help the public. Chairperson Moore said that he had been told that it may save the public money, but he did not see how. Commissioner Hansen asked if the next step would be to allow unlicensed people to drive potential customers around to look at neighborhoods. Counsel Widger noted that the Commission would have no recourse on unlicensed people. Real estate laws only apply to licensees. Even the Afailure to supervise@ provision only applied to supervision of licensees.Commissioner Moline said the legislation appeared to be an attempt to thwart real estate law in several areas. He noted another example of allowable activity under this legislation, that unlicensed people could drive around neighborhoods and knock on the doors of AFor Sale By Owner@ homes to get appointments for their licensee/employer.A vote was taken on the pending motion. Motion carried with Fletcher, Hansen, Moline, Nigro, Wiebusch, and Moore voting aye, with Landow not participating or voting, being absent and excused. Information Matters Title 299, Chapters 2 & 5 Rule Amendments Director Tyrrell noted that the amendments passed by the Commission at the September Meeting had been approved by the Governor, and were effective December 20, 1999. No action was necessary on this Report. Audit of Fiscal Year 98-99 began January 5, 2000 Director Tyrrell reported that the State Auditors arrived in the Commission office on January 5, and are auditing the Commission =s records for Fiscal Year 98-99. The Auditors should be done by the end of the month, and Director Tyrrell will bring the final report to the Commission.No action was necessary on this Report. ARELLO Mid-Year Meeting - Report of Attendees Director Tyrrell reported that the Reorganization and Restructuring Committee met and finalized their recommendations. There were no major changes proposed. Committee Meeting structure may change, with issue discussion forums held first, and then the Committee Meetings afterward. Members would be able to sign up for the forums. The Bylaws and Statement of Policy may be consolidated into one governing document. On behalf of Deputy Director Hoffman, Director Tyrrell noted that the Distance Education Task Force may be amending and streamlining its procedures, and changing its structure. Dr. Meyer may become an independent contractor. More information should be forthcoming at the Spring Meeting. Commissioner Nigro reported that the Fair Housing Committee had a very intense and productive 4-5 hour Meeting. The Committee Chair, LaChun Ellison, is organized and raring to go. The Committee will be contacting every state, trying to persuade them to set up Fair Housing workshops. No action was necessary on this Report. Trust Account Examinations Quarterly Progress Report Deputy Director for Enforcement Mayrose presented the Trust Account Examinations Quarterly Progress Report. A copy of said Report is attached to and made a part of these Minutes. No action was necessary on this Report. Future Meeting Dates The following dates are scheduled: February 24, 2000 - Holiday Inn Central, Omaha Recesses and Adjournment At 10:00 a.m. on January 19, Chairperson Moore declared a brief recess, and reconvened the Meeting at 10:15 a.m. At 10:27 a.m. on January 19, Chairperson Moore declared a brief recess, and reconvened the Meeting at 10:29 a.m. for the Hearing. At 11:25 a.m. on January 19, Chairperson Moore declared a brief recess, and reconvened the Meeting and Hearing at 11:35 a.m. At 1:10 p.m. on January 19, Chairperson Moore adjourned the Hearing, and declared a recess for lunch. At 2:05 p.m. on January 19, Chairperson Moore reconvened the Meeting. At 3:40 p.m. on January 19, there being no further business to come before the Commission, a motion was made by Fletcher and seconded by Hansen that the Meeting adjourn. Motion carried with Fletcher, Hansen, Moline, Nigro, Wiebusch, and Moore voting aye, with Landow not participating or voting, being absent and excused. I, Les Tyrrell, Director of the Nebraska Real Estate Commission, do hereby certify that the foregoing Minutes of the January 19, 2000 Meeting of the Nebraska Real Estate Commission were available for inspection on January 28, 2000, in compliance with Section 84-1413(5) R.R.S. 1943, of Nebraska. Respectfully submitted, Les Tyrrell Guests Signing the Guest List Marla Payant, Nebraska Realtors Association, Lincoln |