58-3050. Refusal to grant or renew; revocation, suspension or restriction of license; censure of licensee; disciplinary actions; civil fines; aggravating circumstances; procedures; recovery of actual
58-3050
58-3050. Refusal to grant or renew; revocation,suspension or restriction of license; censure of licensee; disciplinaryactions; civil fines; aggravating circumstances; procedures; recovery of actualcosts and attorney fees.(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) and (c), the commission may refuse togrant or renew a license and the license of anylicensee may be revoked, suspended, conditioned or restrictedor a licensee may be censured, if:
(1) The licensee has committed a violationof this act or rules and regulations adopted hereunder,or the brokerage relationships in real estate transactions act or rules andregulations adopted thereunder;
(2) the licensee has entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to, or hasbeen convicted of any misdemeanor which reflects on the licensee's honesty,trustworthiness, integrity or competence to transact the business of realestate;
(3) the licensee has been finally adjudicated and found to be guilty ofviolation of the federal fair housing act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.) orK.S.A. 44-1015 through 44-1029, and amendments thereto;
(4) the licensee has obtained or reinstated, or attempted to obtain orreinstate, a license by false or fraudulentrepresentation;
(5) the licensee has violated any lawful order or directive of thecommission; or
(6) the licensee has committed a violation in another state and disciplinaryaction taken against such licensee resulted in the suspension, probation orrevocation of such licensee's real estate license in such other state.
(b) Except as provided in subsection (c), the commission shall suspend orrevoke the license ofany licensee who has entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to, or hasbeen convicted of any felony.
(c) The provisions of subsection (b) shall not apply to any person who:
(1) Is currently licensed under this act;
(2) has entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to, or has been convictedof any offense specified in subsection (b); and
(3) has disclosed such plea or conviction in such person's application forany license or renewal thereof on or before July 1, 2007, prior to thecommission's action on such application.
(d) (1) In addition to or in lieu of any other administrative, civil orcriminal remedy provided by law, the commission, in accordance with theKansas administrative procedure act and upon a finding that a licensee hasviolated a provision of this act or rules andregulations adopted hereunder, or the brokerage relationships in real estatetransactions act or rules and regulations adopted thereunder, may impose onsuch licensee a civil fine not exceeding $1,000 for each violation.
(2) A civil fine not exceeding $5,000 per violation may be imposed if thecommission makes specific findings that aggravating circumstances exist andthat the licensee:
(A) Misappropriated funds belonging to another person;
(B) engaged in fraud or made any substantial misrepresentation;
(C) represented to a lender, guaranteeing agency or any other interestedparty, either verbally or through the preparation of false documents, an amountin excess of the true and actual sale price of the real estate or termsdiffering from those actually agreed upon;
(D) committed forgery or signed or initialed a contractual agreement onbehalf of another person in a real estate transaction unless authorized to doso by a duly executed power of attorney; or
(E) intentionally failed to disclose to a client or customer all adversematerial facts actually known by the licensee regarding environmental hazardsaffecting the property that are required by law to be disclosed, the physicalcondition of the property, material defects in the real property, defects inthe title to the real property or the client's or customer's ability to performunder the terms of the agreement.
(e) For the purposes of subsection (d), the term "aggravating circumstances"means:
(1) The licensee's conduct involved fraud or deceit; and
(2) (A) the licensee's conduct directly resulted in substantial loss orcreated a significant risk of substantial loss to a customer or client; or
(B) the licensee's conduct resulted in substantial financial gain tothe licensee; or
(C) the licensee has a history of prior disciplinary actions involvingviolations similar to the violations described in subsection (d)(2).
(f) In all matters pending before the commission, thecommission shall have the power to revoke the license of any licensee whovoluntarily surrenders such licensee's license or who does not renew suchlicense pending investigation of misconduct or while charges of misconductare pending or anticipated.
(g) If a broker or salesperson has been declaredincompetent by a courtof competent jurisdiction, the commission shall suspend the broker's orsalesperson's license for the period of disability.
(h) (1) Except as provided by paragraph (2) of thissubsection, no complaint allegingviolation of this act or rules andregulations adopted hereunder,or the brokerage relationships in real estatetransactions act or rules and regulations adopted thereunder,shall be commenced more than three years from the date of the occurrence whichis the subject of the complaint.
(2) Unless the violation is not reasonably ascertainable, complaintsalleging violation of subsection (a)(4) or (a)(5) shall be commenced withinthree yearsfrom the date of the occurrence of the violation. If the violation is notreasonably ascertainable, complaints alleging violation of subsection (a)(4) or(a)(5)shall be commenced within three years from the date of violation is ascertainedby the commission.
(i) All administrative proceedings pursuant tothis section shall be conducted in accordance with the Kansasadministrative procedure act.
(j) Notwithstanding any provision of this act or the brokeragerelationships in real estate transactions act to thecontrary, thecommission may use emergency adjudicative proceedings, as provided byK.S.A. 77-536, and amendments thereto, to summarily suspend thelicense of any licensee if the commission has reasonable cause to believethat the licensee's trust account is in unsound condition or that thelicensee is misappropriating funds belonging to other persons.
(k) If a licensee has entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to,or has been convicted of, any felony charge, the commission may useemergency adjudicative proceedings, as provided by K.S.A. 77-536,and amendments thereto, to suspend or revokethe licensee's license.
(l) When the real estate license of an individual isrevoked and thatindividual's name is included in the trade or business name of a realestate brokerage business, the commission may deny continued use of thetrade or business name if, in the opinion of the commission, it would beconfusing or misleading to the public.
(m) The commission shall be authorized to recover from the fine imposedthe commission's actual costs to investigate and prosecute a disciplinary caseagainst a licensee, including attorney fees. The portion of the fine amountcollected that equals the commission's actual costs related to theinvestigation and prosecution of the case and attorney fees, as certified bythe executive director of the commission to the state treasurer, shall becredited to the real estate commission fee fund. The balance of the fine amountcollected shall be credited to the state general fund.
History: L. 1980, ch. 164, § 17;L. 1984, ch. 313, § 88;L. 1986, ch. 209, § 10;L. 1988, ch. 197, § 3;L. 1991, ch. 163, § 3;L. 1995, ch. 252, § 19;L. 1996, ch. 212, § 6;Revived, L. 1997, ch. 65, § 11;L. 1997, ch. 65, § 12;L. 2002, ch. 82, § 6;L. 2004, ch. 82, § 2;L. 2007, ch. 88, § 3;L. 2008, ch. 155, § 4;L. 2009, ch. 7, § 3; July 1.