20. Except within the first 90 days after an appraiser is first added to the appraiser panel of an appraisal management company, an appraisal management company shall not remove an appraiser from its appraiser panel, or otherwise refuse to assign requests for real estate appraisal services to an appraiser without:

a. notifying the appraiser in writing of the reasons why the appraiser is being removed from the appraiser panel of the appraisal management company;

b. notifying the appraiser of the nature of any alleged conduct or violation, if the appraiser is being removed from the panel for illegal conduct, violation of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, or a violation of State licensing standards;

c. providing the appraiser with any evidence, upon which removal is based, including, but not limited to, any appraisal, appraisal review or appraisal consulting report; and

d. providing an opportunity for the appraiser to respond to the notification of the appraisal management company.

Any act of a State certified or licensed real estate appraiser, which constitutes a material violation of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice in the process described in this section, shall be considered prima facie evidence of a violation of the ethics requirements under the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. A material violation, for the purposes of this section, is one that is likely to affect the value estimated in any appraisal utilized in this section, or any other act that reflects on the professional conduct of the appraiser; however, the board shall not be involved in contractual disputes between an appraisal management company and an individual appraiser.

L.2017, c.72, s.20.