TCA § 67-5-1514 — Assistance of agents — Qualifications, registration, disciplinary action

At, or in connection with, any conference or hearing held pursuant to this part, or pursuant to part 14 of this chapter, taxpayers and assessors of property shall be entitled to the assistance of a qualified agent and of such other persons as they may wish. At any conference or hearing held pursuant to this part, or with respect to the filing of appeals pursuant to § 67-5-1412, taxpayers and assessors of property may appear in person, by qualified agent, or, in the case of taxpayers, by a member of the taxpayer's immediate family. The following persons are permitted to act, appear and participate as an agent for the taxpayer: Attorneys; With respect to a corporation or other artificial entity, its regular officers, directors or employees; Where the only issue of an appeal is the valuation of tangible personal property, a certified public accountant; and Where the primary issue of any complaint, protest or appeal pertains to those grounds as provided in § 67-5-1407, any person who holds a valid registration issued by the board of equalization. The board of equalization shall, upon receipt of a registration fee of two hundred dollars ($200), register as an agent any person who presents satisfactory evidence that the person has: Not less than four (4) years of experience in real property appraisal and/or assessment valuation; and Successfully completed not less than one hundred twenty (120) classroom hours of academic instruction in subjects of which the primary substance relates to property appraisal or assessment of property from a college or university, or from a nationally recognized appraisal or assessment organization approved by the board; Passed the examination for Tennessee certified assessor as administered by the board; and No person shall be required to meet the additional registration qualifications required by this section if such person has registered or applied for registration prior to June 30, 2002. The board may, in lieu of the evidence required in subdivision (c)(2), recognize and accept certain professional designations which are awarded by appraisal and/or assessment organizations on the basis of qualifications at least equal to those set forth therein. The board may charge a reasonable fee, not to exceed fifty dollars ($50.00), for administration of the examination for Tennessee certified assessor to an applicant for registration under this section. A corporation engaged in the business of evaluation of property may be registered if its principal officer is registered, but only employees of the corporation who are registered shall be permitted to act as agents for taxpayers. The fee for registration and renewal of registration shall be the same as provided for agents in this subsection (c). Where the primary issue of any complaint, protest or appeal pertains to those grounds as provided in § 67-5-1407, then all conferences or hearings shall be conducted in an informal manner. An assessor of property may delegate duties to be performed under this chapter to any of the assessor's deputies. The following persons are permitted to represent the assessor of property in any contested case before the state board of equalization: Attorneys, including attorneys with the division of property assessments; With respect to the assessor's office, any person designated as deputy assessor; Where the only issue of an appeal is the valuation of tangible personal property, a certified public accountant, any person that has contracted with that particular county or assessor of property, or both, to review financial information relative to the subject taxpayer's personal property and the tax on the personal property or any person with a personal property designation from any nationally accredited appraisal organization or assessment organization, or both; Employees of the division of property assessments where the employees have attained any type of designation by the International Association of Assessing Officers or the Tennessee Certified Assessor's Program; and Where the primary issue of any complaint, protest or appeal pertains to those grounds as provided in § 67-5-1407, any person who holds a valid registration issued by the board of equalization pursuant to subdivision (c)(2). The board may reprimand, revoke, or suspend from practice or place on probation or otherwise discipline any agent for any of the acts set forth below: Procuring or attempting to procure registration pursuant to this part by knowingly making a false statement, submitting false information, or through any form of fraud; Failing to meet the minimum qualifications established by this section; Paying money or other valuable consideration, other than as provided for by this section, to any member or employee of the board to procure registration under this section; or Any act or omission involving dishonesty or fraud that could substantially benefit the registrant or another person or with the intent to substantially injure another person. The board may adopt additional standards of conduct, if any, regarding all agents when appearing at any conference or hearing pursuant to this section. There is hereby created within the board a regulatory panel, to consist of six (6) members, each of whom shall serve a two-year term, the members to be selected by the board from among a list of individual agents who are registered with the board and who have been nominated to serve on the panel by individual agents who are registered with the board. The panel may adopt standards of conduct for all agents, which standards then shall be subject to approval by the board. The majority of the panel constitutes a quorum and the affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) majority of the panel, or two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the board upon appeal, is necessary for disciplinary action against any agent. Upon receipt of a written complaint made against any agent, the executive secretary, if the executive secretary determines that the complaint warrants an investigation, shall notify the agent, and the agent shall file an answer to the complaint with the executive secretary within forty-five (45) days from receipt of notice. Following receipt of the agent's answer to the complaint, the executive secretary shall appoint an administrative judge from the staff of the board who shall investigate the complaint. The administrative judge may dismiss the complaint or determine that a hearing is required. Any such hearing shall be conducted by the panel, and the panel may discipline any agent in any manner provided in this section. Within forty-five (45) days from the date of the panel's disciplinary decision, the disciplined agent may appeal the panel's decision to the board. In the event of such appeal, the members of the board shall conduct a hearing and may confirm or dismiss the panel's disciplinary decision. All agents' registrations issued by the board under this section shall expire on June 30 of each even-numbered year, and shall be invalid after that date unless renewed. Subject to subsection (h), such registrations may be renewed on or before the expiration date by remitting to the board the biennial registration fee of two hundred dollars ($200). Subject to subsection (h), an agent's registration may be renewed: On or before the expiration date, by remitting to the board the biennial registration fee of two hundred dollars ($200); Within a period of one (1) year after the expiration date, by remitting to the board the biennial registration fee of two hundred dollars ($200) plus a late renewal fee of fifty dollars ($50.00). Any person whose registration has lapsed for a period of more than one (1) year must reapply for registration. Any written solicitation of business, by letter, advertisement, or otherwise, by any person other than an attorney, who qualifies as an agent under this section shall contain, in type large enough to be easily readable, a disclaimer substantially as follows: “Taxpayer agents who are not lawyers may only appear on your behalf before the state board of equalization on matters of classification, assessment, and/or valuation, and may not represent you in a court of law.” The agent regulatory panel may adopt and revise standards for continuing education to be imposed as a condition for renewal of an agent's registration under this section, which standards and revisions shall be subject to approval by the board. The board and panel may approve a continuing education program conducted by its staff, and the board may charge agents attending for credit a fee in an amount sufficient to defray the cost of the program. All other provisions of this section notwithstanding, this section shall not apply in any manner to the representation of a taxpayer by an attorney. No provision in this section is intended to require that any person must be an attorney, certified public accountant, agent registered with the board, or otherwise in order to act as an agent for a taxpayer before a county board of equalization. Application for registration or renewal of registration by a person or a firm not a resident of this state shall constitute appointment of the secretary of state as the applicant's agent upon whom process may be served in any action or proceeding against the applicant arising out of any transaction or operation connected with or incidental to services performed by the applicant while a registrant within this state. Service of process on the secretary of state shall be made in the manner set forth in §§ 20-2-215 and 20-2-216. The board may waive any registration requirement for an applicant who holds a valid registration certificate or license issued by another state that has requirements for licensing or registration of property taxpayer agents that are at least equal to the requirements of this state. An applicant for reciprocity shall apply in the same manner as any other applicant and shall furnish the board with documents and other evidence substantiating the applicant's qualifications as required by the board.