Section 125-205-03 - Certification renewalA. Individuals seeking certification renewal. MRS annually renews certification levels pursuant to 36 M.R.S. §311. Certification renewal requires the completion of the applicable number of hours of approved CE during a calendar year. The CE requirement begins on January 1 immediately following the date on which an individual meets the CAT, CMA, CMA-2, CMA-3, or CMA-4 certification requirements. An individual seeking renewal must provide evidence of completion of the CE requirement to MRS before a certificate will be renewed. Individuals must attend and satisfactorily complete an approved CE activity to receive credit for the activity. An individual certificate holder who has fulfilled the current year's CE requirement may apply excess hours of CE toward the following year's requirement. Excess hours may not be carried forward beyond the calendar year following the year in which the hours were earned. An individual with a CAT or CMA certification who fails to complete the required ACE during a calendar year will be notified by MRS on or before January 31 of the following year that his or her certificate may be revoked. Certification may be retained if that individual completes the required number of hours of CE for both the previous and current years before the end of the calendar year in which the revocation notice is received. If an individual receiving a notice of revocation does not complete the required number of CE hours for the current and previous year, that individual's certification will be revoked.
If a CMA who has earned an advanced certification (CMA-2, CMA-3, or CMA-4) fails to attain the required hours of ACE for certification renewal at that level for any year, MRS will downgrade that individual's certification to the level for which he or she has qualified. For the calendar year following the year in which a certification downgrade is received, an individual may renew the advanced certification through the same process as for CMA certification renewal (completion of ACE for both prior and current years).
B.Continuing education and advanced continuing education. Activities that may qualify for CE include courses, seminars, workshops, and teaching assignments. ACE activity must consist of an educational presentation related to property tax, assessment, appraisal, or other topic related to property tax administration. An individual who wants to present a CE activity must submit a written request for approval to MRS at least 30 days before the activity. A request for approval must be in a format approved by MRS. ACE activity may include homework, classroom problems and examinations.
MRS will designate CE activities that qualify for ACE. These activities will involve concepts that are above an introductory level and are directly related to the municipal assessing field. A list of the currently approved ongoing ACE courses is available on the Property Tax Division website. Other courses may be approved for ACE at the discretion of MRS. MRS may seek written recommendations from professional groups and organizations regarding other courses that may qualify for ACE.
C.Required certification renewal training hours.1.CMA certification renewal. For certification renewal as a CMA, an individual must complete 16 hours of CE during the calendar year. An individual must also complete an approved ethics training course once every three years. Ethics training must be approved by MRS and will count towards the annual CE hours requirement.2.CMA-2 certification renewal. For certification renewal as a CMA-2, an individual must complete 21 hours of CE during the calendar year, including at least 5 hours of ACE. An individual must also complete an approved ethics training course once every three years. Ethics training and ACE must be approved by MRS and will count towards the annual CE hours requirement.3.CMA-3 certification renewal. For certification renewal as a CMA-3, an individual must complete 28 hours of CE during the calendar year, including at least 12 hours of ACE. An individual must complete an approved ethics training course once every three years. Ethics training and ACE must be approved by MRS and will count towards the annual CE hours requirement.4.CMA-4 certification renewal. For certification renewal as a CMA-4, an individual must complete 28 hours of CE during the calendar year, including at least 12 hours of ACE. An individual must complete an approved ethics training course once every three years. Ethics training and ACE must be approved by MRS and will count towards the annual CE hours requirement.5.CAT certification renewal. For certification renewal as a CAT, an individual must complete 16 hours of CE during the calendar year. An individual must also complete an approved ethics training course once every three years. Ethics training must be approved by MRS and will count towards the annual CE hours requirement.18-125 C.M.R. ch. 205, § 03