Proposed amendments to Real Estate Commission rules are reported beginning on page one. This is but one step in the yearlong process of rulemaking. How that process works is described here.

Both North Carolina law and the Commission's rules govern the conduct of those involved in the real estate field.

The rules cover a variety of topics including the activities of applicants, licensed individuals and firms, pre-licensing and continuing education schools, course materials and instructors, timeshare projects and hearings before the Commission.

As a real estate licensee, you are required to understand the import of these rules and how to apply them in the business. You also have a voice in their development with the opportunity to be heard during the nearly year-long developmental process.

Illustrating this article are the steps involved in the development of rules. With publication of this Bulletin in October, Step 6 - the Commission's public hearing - will be next.

Generally, suggestions for rules come from licensees, members of the public, local Boards of REALTORS®, ongoing Commission review or in response to statutory change or public necessity. Once proposed, rules must go through a specific process before adoption by the Commission.

First, the Commission publishes notice of its intent to amend its rules in the North Carolina Register, published twice monthly by the Office of Administrative Hearings.

The Register contains notices and texts of proposed rule changes by any of the state's regulatory agencies and boards.

Next, proposed rules must be evaluated for their fiscal impact. If a rule amendment will bring about a substantial economic impact on a state level, then a fiscal note must be prepared and approved by the Office of State Budget Management before rulemaking may continue. Similarly, if a rule will impact local government, then it is sent to the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners and the North Carolina League of Municipalities for review.

The Commission then publishes the text of the proposed rule changes in the Register and invites comment at a public hearing. As a result of that comment, further changes may be made to the proposals before the final text is approved.

Once final text is approved, the Commission sends the text to the Rules Review Commission, an independent board created by the legislature to give a preliminary review of proposed changes in rules by North Carolina's regulatory agencies. The Rules Review Commission may approve the rules outright or may request that certain changes be made before submission to the General Assembly, the final stage in the rulemaking process.

If any member of the General Assembly objects to new rules, the member may submit a bill to stop passage. If no action is taken on the rules by the 31st legislative day or the day of adjournment, whichever is earlier, then the rules are adopted and published in the Administrative Code.

The North Carolina Real Estate Commission encourages its licensees and the general public to participate in the rulemaking process by attending the public hearing or by sending written comments or suggestions to the Commission's Rules Coordinator at the Commission office at anytime prior to the hearing.