Wis. Admin. Code § Tax 12.065 — Continuing education requirements for recertification of assessors and assessment personnel

Tax 12.065(1) (1) Definitions.

Tax 12.065(1)(a) (a) “Accredited institution of higher education” means schools accredited by one of the regional institutional accrediting commissions or associations which have been recognized by the U.S. department of education or a law school accredited by the American bar association.

Tax 12.065(1)(b) (b) “Appraisal instruction” means programs which consist of appraisal knowledge which is broad based and essential to assessors and assessment personnel in performing the appraisal function.

Tax 12.065(1)(c) (c) “Committee” means the advisory committee appointed by the department from, but not limited to, the following groups: the department; league of Wisconsin municipalities, the assessor’s section; the Wisconsin association of assessing officers; county assessor systems; the Wisconsin technical college system; the University of Wisconsin Extension; the Wisconsin towns association; private appraisal firms or individuals.

Tax 12.065(1)(d) (d) “Continuing education” means those hours and subject areas of instruction established for each level of assessor certification and approved by the department to meet minimum requirements for recertification.

Tax 12.065(1)(e) (e) “Credit program” means a course which can be applied toward an associate degree or higher degree at an accredited institution of higher education.

Tax 12.065(1)(f) (f) “Evidence of attendance” means an official transcript, student grade report, or department approved certificate showing satisfactory completion of educational programs.

Tax 12.065(1)(g) (g) “Hour” means a period of 50 minutes of actual instruction and shall not include time spent in writing tests and examinations.

Tax 12.065(1)(h) (h) “Noncredit program” means an educational program or training session which does not satisfy requirements for an associate degree or higher degree at an accredited institution of higher education.

Tax 12.065(1)(i) (i) “Property tax law” or “management instruction” means programs which consist of assessment administration knowledge which is broad based and essential to assessors in performing the assessment function.

Tax 12.065(1)(j) (j) “Recertification” means the reissuance of a certificate by the department to previously certified assessment personnel.

Tax 12.065(1)(k) (k) “Recertification period” means the 5 years preceding the expiration of the applicant’s current certification.

Tax 12.065(1)(L) (L) “Satisfactory completion” means receiving a passing score for a credit program or attendance at a noncredit program. Attendance at a credit program on an audit basis does not satisfy the requirement of satisfactory completion.

Tax 12.065(2) (2) Requirements. Continuing education requirements shall include:

Tax 12.065(2)(a) (a) The program shall be approved by the department prior to attendance.

Tax 12.065(2)(b) (b) The program shall be attended and completed not earlier than 5 years preceding the expiration of the applicant’s current certification period.

Tax 12.065(2)(c) (c) The program shall be attended and completed not later than 2 months prior to the expiration of the applicant’s current certification period.

Tax 12.065(2)(d) (d) The program shall be at least 0.5 hours in length.

Tax 12.065(2)(e) (e) An applicant or instructor may apply continuing education hours only once for the same program during any given recertification period.

Tax 12.065(2)(f) (f) The minimum hours and subject areas of instruction required by certification level are as follows:

Tax 12.065(2)(f)1. 1. Continuing education is not required to be recertified at the assessment technician level.

Tax 12.065(2)(f)2. 2. Twenty hours of continuing education programs in appraisal instruction shall be required for recertification at the property appraiser level.

Tax 12.065(2)(f)3. 3. Thirty hours of continuing education programs shall be required for recertification at the assessor 1 and 2 levels. A minimum of 15 hours shall be in appraisal instruction and a minimum of 15 hours shall be in property tax law or management instruction.

Tax 12.065(2)(f)4. 4. Thirty hours of continuing education programs shall be required for recertification at the assessor 3 level. A minimum of 3 hours shall be in appraisal instruction and a minimum of 27 hours shall be in property tax law or management instruction.

Tax 12.065(2)(f)5. 5. Programs may jointly meet requirements for applicants holding multiple certifications.

Tax 12.065(3) (3) Duties. The department and the committee shall be authorized to perform the following duties in administering the continuing education program:

Tax 12.065(3)(a) (a) The department shall:

Tax 12.065(3)(a)1. 1. Appoint the committee to staggered 2-year terms. The maximum committee membership shall be 15, containing a minimum of 3 department members.

Tax 12.065(3)(a)2. 2. Assign the duties of committee chairperson and committee secretary to department members.

Tax 12.065(3)(a)3. 3. Call committee meetings as needed and maintain all committee records.

Tax 12.065(3)(a)4. 4. Review recommendations by the committee and notify interested parties of the decisions.

Tax 12.065(3)(a)5. 5. Reimburse the ordinary and necessary expenses of the committee members or duly authorized representatives in the performance of committee business.

Tax 12.065(3)(a)6. 6. Investigate any sponsor or instructor upon receipt of a complaint from an interested person.

Tax 12.065(3)(a)7. 7. Give written notification with the reason for such action if, after investigation and review, the department denies or deems it proper to withdraw its approval of any educational program or instructor. The sponsor or instructor may request a hearing before the department.

Tax 12.065(3)(b) (b) The committee shall:

Tax 12.065(3)(b)1. 1. Meet as needed at the request of the committee chairperson. A minimum of 7 members shall be required to conduct business and decisions shall be made on the basis of a majority vote of the members in attendance.

Tax 12.065(3)(b)2. 2. Review materials submitted to the department and recommend approval or disapproval based on the subject area of the program, the qualification of the instructor and the number of hours in each program.

Tax 12.065(4) (4) Investigation and review. The department with the assistance of the committee may review approved educational programs and instructors. The method of review shall be determined by the department in each case and may consist of one or more of the following:

Tax 12.065(4)(a) (a) Consideration of information available from federal, state or local agencies, private organizations or agencies, or interested persons.

Tax 12.065(4)(b) (b) Conferences with officials or representatives of the sponsor involved or with former students.

Tax 12.065(4)(c) (c) Public hearing regarding the educational program or instructor involved, with adequate written notice to the sponsor or instructor or both.

Tax 12.065(4)(d) (d) Investigation by visitation to the school program or session.

Tax 12.065(5) (5) Approval. Requirements for approval of hours, subject areas, instructors and certification of attendance at programs are as follows:

Tax 12.065(5)(a) (a) Credit program approved upon the following conditions:

Tax 12.065(5)(a)1. 1. Courses offered by accredited institutions in appraisal instruction and in property tax law or management instruction are automatically approved.

Tax 12.065(5)(a)2. 2. Individuals attending the course shall provide evidence of satisfactory completion to the department within 30 days of conclusion of this course.

Tax 12.065(5)(b) (b) Noncredit program approval may be requested by a school or a program sponsor by following the procedures indicated below:

Tax 12.065(5)(b)1. 1. An application for approval shall be submitted at least 30 days prior to the commencement of the program on a form provided by the department. The department shall require the following information and materials:

Tax 12.065(5)(b)1.a. a. The program title.

Tax 12.065(5)(b)1.b. b. Name and qualifications of instructor.

Tax 12.065(5)(b)1.c. c. The name of the sponsoring organization.

Tax 12.065(5)(b)1.d. d. Detailed outlines of each course with specific allocation of hours to each topic.

Tax 12.065(5)(b)2. 2. Instructors shall be experienced in the subject which they are teaching; the department may limit its approval to specific content areas set forth in sub. (1) (b) and (i) . As a minimum, the instructor shall be a person who, in the judgment of the department is qualified by experience or education, or both to supervise a course of study within the legislative intent of this section.

Tax 12.065(5)(b)3. 3. Where the department deems it appropriate, initial approval of noncredit programs may be given without specific information concerning dates, times, locations and instructors, but this information shall be provided no later than 30 days prior to the beginning of the approved program. These approvals shall expire on the first September 30 occurring three or more months from the date of initial approval. Applications for reapproval shall be submitted to the department prior to July 30 each year.

Tax 12.065(5)(b)4. 4. Additional criteria for approval and reapproval of noncredit programs are as follows:

Tax 12.065(5)(b)4.a. a. Applicants for approval shall not discriminate against anyone on the basis of sex, race, religion, age, physical disability or national origin in their education programs.

Tax 12.065(5)(b)4.b. b. The department shall approve only those programs whose primary emphasis is in the area of appraisal, property tax law, or management instruction. The amount of continuing education approved for a course will be only the actual amount of instruction time which deals directly with appraisal, property tax law, or management areas.

Tax 12.065(5)(b)4.c. c. The department may refuse approval if, in its judgment, the attendance at the program cannot be adequately monitored.

Tax 12.065(5)(b)5. 5. The sponsor or school shall provide evidence of attendance as follows: