Senate Bill No. 477
(By Senators Barnes and Caruth)
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[Introduced March 5, 2009; referred to the Committee on
Government Organization.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §30-40-4 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to requiring individuals who lease
property for their subsurface rights to be licensed under the
Real Estate License Act.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §30-40-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 40. WEST VIRGINIA REAL ESTATE LICENSE ACT.
§30-40-4. Definitions.
Unless the context in which used clearly requires a different
meaning, as used in this article:
(a) "Applicant" means any person who is making application to
the commission for a license.
(b) "Associate broker" means any person who qualifies for a
broker's license, but who is employed or engaged by a licensed broker to engage in any activity regulated by this article, in the
name of and under the direct supervision of the licensed broker.
(c) "Broker" means any person who for compensation or with the
intention or expectation of receiving or collecting compensation:
(1) Lists, sells, purchases, exchanges, options, rents,
manages, leases or auctions any interest in real estate; or
(2) Directs or assists in the procuring of a prospect
calculated or intended to result in a real estate transaction;
or
(3) Advertises or holds himself or herself out as engaged in,
negotiates or attempts to negotiate, or offers to engage in any
activity enumerated in subdivision (1) of this subsection;
or
(4) Leases subsurface property rights.
(d) "Commission" means the West Virginia Real Estate
Commission as established in section six of this article.
(e) "Compensation" means fee, commission, salary or other
valuable consideration, in the form of money or otherwise.
(f) "Designated broker" means a person holding a broker's
license who has been appointed by a partnership, association,
corporation, or other form of business organization engaged in the
real estate brokerage business, to be responsible for the acts of
the business and to whom the partners, members, or board of
directors have delegated full authority to conduct the real estate
brokerage activities of the business organization.
(g) "Distance education" means courses of instruction in which instruction takes place through media where the teacher and student
are separated by distance and sometimes by time.
(h) "Inactive" means a licensee who is not authorized to
conduct any real estate business and is not required to comply with
any continuing education requirements.
(i) "License" means a license to act as a broker, associate
broker or salesperson.
(j) "Licensee" means a person holding a license.
(k) "Member" means a commissioner of the Real Estate
Commission.
(l) "Real estate" means any interest or estate in land and
anything permanently affixed to land.
(m) "Salesperson" means a person employed or engaged by or on
behalf of a broker to do or deal in any activity included in this
article, in the name of and under the direct supervision of a
broker, other than an associate broker.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require individuals
leasing subsurface property rights to be licensed under this act.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.