San Antonio hosted the Texas Real Estate Commission’s (TREC) second quarterly meeting of 2025 on May 5. This also marks the Commission’s third out-of-Austin meeting: Traveling to “meet people where they are” is an effort started by TREC Chair R. Scott Kesner in 2023.

In his opening remarks, Chair Kesner mentioned the departure of public member Jason Hartgraves from Dallas and broker member Barbara Russell from Denton. This meeting also marked the final one for Chair Kesner, a broker member from El Paso. All are pictured below in order standing with TREC Executive Director Chelsea Buchholtz.

She expressed appreciation for their service to the agency and industry:

“Scott Kesner delivered with flying colors, and he did so with kindness and with strength. He led this commission to a place in which we can all be proud. Scott led the charge on improvements to call hold times and enforcement case closure times and our improvements to required course offerings, just to name a few. It has been a pleasure to work with you and for you.

Commissioner Hartgraves, I appreciate the unique hat you wear as a public member on the commission to protect and ensure transparency. You have a keen eye for the consumer and have asked great questions that have made me think. Thank you for the time you have put into making us better, and for your contributions to our work.

Commissioner Russell, your contributions to the good work of the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M has made a difference in your devotion as a liaison to the Education Standards Advisory Committee. And personally, I have appreciated your encouragement as a fellow woman in leadership.

We will miss all three of you and are very grateful for your contribution to this work and to the great state of Texas.”

New Chair Appointed, More Appointments to Come

Commissioner Mark Woodroof, who has served as a broker member on the Commission since 2021, was appointed on May 6 by Gov. Greg Abbott to serve as Commission chair. Gov. Abbott also appointed two broker members: Kristi Davis of Carrollton and James B. “JB” Goodwin of Austin, whose appointments are pending Senate Confirmation.

Proposed Changes You Can Comment On

The following were presented to Commissioners and are now formally proposed rule changes that you can provide feedback on through the online public comment tool. The earliest any proposed changes could be adopted is at the next Commission meeting in August.

The New License Management System

The bulk of the proposed rule changes are a result of the agency’s soon-to-launch license management system. It will allow users to provide the agency information entirely online, eliminating the need for paper forms and checks.

Student ID, Course Exam Proctoring

Proposed changes to 22 TAC Chapter 535 were introduced by the Education Standards Advisory Committee (ESAC) and Texas Real Estate Inspector Committee (TREIC). They allow for student identity verification to be done in various ways (such as with the use of technology) and help alleviate security concerns related to students’ personal data.

The changes also remove proctoring requirements for qualifying course exams and allow for a proctor in situations where a course is delivered through technology and there are more than 20 students at a remote site.

In addition to considering the removal of proctoring requirements, the proposed rule changes also remove the requirement that exams be closed book. The reasons for removing proctoring requirements include them being overly burdensome and unnecessary because the licensing exam is proctored.

For similar reasons, the proctoring requirement for inspector non-elective continuing education course exams for distance education is also up for removal.

Rule Review

Following the Commission’s quadrennial rule review, there are proposed changes to 22 TAC Chapter 537, which includes three forms. The changes to this chapter update or correct form reference numbering.

The quadrennial rule review is a requirement under state law that rules be evaluated to determine whether they are still needed or if changes should be made.

Under this review and in preparation for the new online system, amendments are also proposed for Chapter 543 (the chapter which deals with timeshares) for clarification and to provide notice that when submitting online payments, the Commission may collect a fee required by the Texas Department of Information Resources.

Review the proposed rule changes in their entirety beginning on page 76 of the meeting materials.

Meeting Materials

TREC’s May 5, 2025, meeting recording and materials are online.

TREC will meet again on August 11, 2025, at its headquarters in Austin. Those meeting details are on TREC's website. As the meeting date approaches, its materials, agenda, and livestream link will be available on the same page.