§ 160-mmmm. Appraiser independence; unlawful acts. Each appraisal
management company shall ensure that real estate appraisals are
conducted independently and free from inappropriate influence and
coercion. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, it shall
be unlawful for any employee, director, officer, or agent of an
appraisal management company registered in this state pursuant to this
article to:

1. Compensate, coerce, extort, collude, instruct, induce, bribe, or
intimidate, or attempt to compensate, coerce, extort, collude, instruct,
induce, bribe, or intimidate a person, firm or other entity conducting
or involved in an appraisal for the purpose of causing the appraised
value assigned under the appraisal or other valuation services to the
property to be based on any factor other than the independent judgment
of the appraiser;

2. Mischaracterize the appraised value of a property in conjunction
with a consumer credit transaction;

3. Seek to influence an appraiser or otherwise to encourage a targeted
value in order to facilitate the making or pricing of a consumer credit
transaction;

4. Act without just cause to withhold or threaten to withhold timely
payment for an appraisal report or for other valuation services rendered
with such appraisal report or services provided in accordance with the
contract between parties;

5. Act without just cause to withhold or threaten to withhold future
business, or to demote or terminate an appraiser without just cause;

6. Expressly or implicitly promise future business, promotions, or
increased compensation for an appraiser in exchange for the real estate
appraiser inflating or deflating his or her appraised value of real
property;

7. Require a real estate appraiser to indemnify an appraisal
management company or hold an appraisal management company harmless for
any liability, damage, losses, or claims arising out of the services
performed by such appraisal management company, and not the services
performed by the appraiser;

8. Condition the request for an appraisal or the payment of an earned
fee, salary or bonus, on the opinion, conclusion, or valuation to be
reached, or on a preliminary estimate or opinion requested from an
appraiser;

9. Request that an appraiser provide an estimated, predetermined, or
desired valuation in an appraisal report, or provide estimated values or
comparable sales at any time prior to the appraiser's completion of an
appraisal;

10. Provide to an appraiser an anticipated, estimated, encouraged, or
desired value for a subject property or a proposed or target amount to
be loaned to the borrower, except that a copy of the sales contract for
purchase transactions may be provided; or

11. Provide to an appraiser, or any entity or person related to the
appraiser, stock or any other financial or non-financial benefits in
exchange for appraising property in a manner other than that which is
within the independent opinion of the appraiser.

Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting the
appraisal management company from asking an appraiser to consider
additional, appropriate property information, including: additional
comparable properties to make or support an appraisal; provide further
detail, substantiation, or explanation for the appraiser's value
conclusion; or correct errors in the appraisal report.