(A) For purposes of this section:

1. (1) "Mass appraisal project" means any sexennial reappraisal, triennial update, or other revaluation of all real property or the valuation of newly constructed real property in accordance with section 5713.01 of the Revised Code.

2. (2) "Qualified project manager" means a person who plans, manages, coordinates, and controls the execution of a mass appraisal project under the direction of the county auditor and who has all of the following qualifications:

   1. (a) Has passed a comprehensive final examination that corresponds to a course, approved by the superintendent of real estate and professional licensing, that consists of at least thirty hours of instruction, quizzes, and learning aids. The superintendent shall not approve a course under this division that does not address the following topics in both the instruction and the examination:

      1. (i) Concepts and principles of mass appraisal as they relate to the assessment of real property for the purposes of ad valorem taxation;
      2. (ii) Methods of data collection and data management relative to parcels of real property, including modern alternative data collection methods and currently utilized computer-assisted mass appraisal systems;
      3. (iii) Assessment sales-ratio study including various measures of central tendency, the various measures of dispersion of data about the mean, median, and dollar-weighted mean, and the advantages and disadvantages of various analysis techniques;
      4. (iv) Traditional approaches of property valuation, including the cost approach, the sales comparison approach, and the income approach, as they are implemented in a mass appraisal project;
      5. (v) Methods and systems for model building and model calibration as related to mass appraisal of real property;
      6. (vi) Methods of production management and project analysis such as Gantt charts, program evaluation and review technique (PERT) charts, frequency distribution charts, line graphs, bar charts, and scatter diagrams, as they are utilized in the mass appraisal area.
   2. (b) Has completed at least seven hours of continuing education courses in real property or mass appraisal during the two-year period immediately succeeding the year in which the person passed the examination required in division (A)(2)(a) of this section, and during each two-year period thereafter.

(B)

1. (1) The county auditor, in acting as the assessor of all real property in the auditor's county for taxation purposes in accordance with section 5713.01 of the Revised Code, shall involve at least one qualified project manager in each mass appraisal project that originates more than two years after the effective date of the enactment of this section by H.B. 487 of the 129th general assembly, September 10, 2012.
2. (2) The tax commissioner, beginning two years after the effective date of the enactment of this section by H.B. 487 of the 129th general assembly, September 10, 2012, shall not approve any contract entered into by the auditor under division (E) of section 5713.01 of the Revised Code with a person to do all or any part of the work necessary to the performance of the auditor's duties as assessor unless that person designates an officer or employee of that person, with the appropriate credentials, to act as a qualified project manager.

3. (3) The tax commissioner, beginning two years after the effective date of the enactment of this section by H.B. 487 of the 129th general assembly, September 10, 2012, shall not include any person that has not designated an officer or employee, with the appropriate credentials, to act as a qualified project manager on a list generated by the commissioner for either of the following purposes:

   1. (a) To assist county auditors in selecting a person to do all or any part of the work necessary to the performance of the auditor's duties as assessor of all real property under section 5713.01 of the Revised Code;
   2. (b) To assist the commissioner in the consideration of whether to approve or disapprove the auditor's application requesting authority to employ an appraisal firm or individual appraiser.

(C) The superintendent of real estate and professional licensing shall adopt reasonable rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code necessary for the implementation of this section, including rules establishing both of the following:

1. (1) The form and manner by which persons may apply to the superintendent to offer a thirty-hour course or continuing education course as described in division (A)(2) of this section;
2. (2) Standards to be used by the superintendent in approving a thirty-hour course or continuing education course described in division (A)(2) of this section.