Opinion ID: 2647376
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Heading: Licensed Real Estate Agent

Text: Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-7-207(c)(11)(A) requires us to first determine whether a time-share salesperson is a “licensed real estate agent.” When we interpret a statute, we must ascertain and give full effect to the General Assembly’s intent. Walker v. Sunrise Pontiac-GMC Truck, Inc., 249 S.W.3d 301, 309 (Tenn. 2008). Our primary concern is to carry out this intent without unduly expanding or restricting the language of the statute beyond the legislature’s intended scope. Premium Fin. Corp. of Am. v. Crump Ins. Servs. of Memphis, Inc., 978 S.W.2d 91, 93 (Tenn. 1998). Furthermore, “[w]e presume that every word in a statute has meaning and purpose and should be given full effect if so doing does not violate the legislature’s obvious intent.” State v. Casper, 297 S.W.3d 676, 683 (Tenn. 2009). When the statutory language is clear and unambiguous, we apply the plain meaning of the statute. Eastman Chem. Co. v. Johnson, 151 S.W.3d 503, 507 (Tenn. 2004). When the language is ambiguous, however, we look to the “broader statutory scheme, the history of the legislation, or other sources to discern its meaning.” Casper, 297 S.W.3d at 683. In doing so, we must also presume that the General Assembly was aware of the state of the law at the time it enacted the statute at issue. Id. Finally, statutes relating to the same subject or having a common purpose should be construed together. Graham v. Caples, 325 S.W.3d 578, 582 (Tenn. 2010) (internal quotation marks omitted). -6- In adding the qualified real estate agent exclusion to the Employment Security Law in 1987, the General Assembly adopted the term “licensed real estate agent” from section 3508 of the Internal Revenue Code. See 26 U.S.C. § 3508(b)(1)(A). The term “licensed real estate agent,” however, is not defined in section 3508 of the Internal Revenue Code, in Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-7-207(c)(11), or elsewhere in the Employment Security Law. Moreover, the Employment Security Law is administered by the Department of Labor, which does not license real estate agents or determine their qualifications. We must therefore look beyond the Employment Security Law to determine the meaning of “licensed real estate agent.” In Tennessee, individuals who engage in real estate activities are governed by the Tennessee Real Estate Broker License Act of 1973 (“Real Estate Broker Act”), which is administered by the Tennessee Real Estate Commission. Act of Apr. 26, 1973, ch. 181, 1973 Tenn. Pub. Acts 524 (codified as amended at Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 62-13-101 to -604 (2009 & Supp. 2013)). The Real Estate Broker Act has historically referred to individuals engaging in real estate activities as “brokers” and “affiliate brokers” and not as “real estate agents.” Id. It is clear, however, that the General Assembly intended to exclude a category of services from the Employment Security Law when it enacted the “qualified real estate agent” exclusion. To determine which category of services the General Assembly intended to exclude, we find it helpful to review the history of the Real Estate Broker Act and to examine the emergence of time-share intervals in real estate activities. When enacted in 1973, the Real Estate Broker Act defined a “broker” in pertinent part as any person who for a fee, commission, finders fee or any other valuable consideration, or with the intent or expectation of receiving the same from another, solicits, negotiates or attempts to solicit or negotiate the listing, sale, purchase, exchange, lease or option to buy, sell, rent, or exchange for any real estate or of the improvements thereon . . . . Id. at 525. An “affiliate broker” was defined as “any person engaged under contract by or on behalf of a licensed broker to participate in any activity included [within the definition of “broker.”]. Id. at 526. “Real estate” included leaseholds and “any other interest or estate in land.” Id. at 525. The Real Estate Broker Act required any person who engaged in the real estate activities defined in the Act to be licensed by the Tennessee Real Estate Commission as a broker or an affiliate broker. Id. at 524-25. At that time, however, time-share intervals were not a regulated real estate activity under the Act. -7- In 1981, however, the Real Estate Broker Act was amended to add time-share transactions to the real estate activities conducted by licensed brokers and affiliate brokers. Act of May 6, 1981, ch. 372, 1981 Tenn. Pub. Acts 514, 529. The amendment of the Real Estate Broker Act coincided with the enactment of the Tennessee Time-Share Act of 1981 (“Time-Share Act”). Id. at 514 (codified as amended at Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 66-32-101 to -312 (2004)). The Time-Share Act created time-share “sales agents” who were authorized to sell time-share intervals and time-share estates as defined in the Time-Share Act.4 Id. at 516. In 1983, the Time-Share Act was amended to specify that all time-share sales agents were required to be licensed under, and subject to, the Real Estate Broker Act. Act of Apr. 26, 1983, ch. 210, 1983 Tenn. Pub. Acts 337 (amending Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-32-102(1982)). The Time-Share Act also authorized the Real Estate Commission to revoke or suspend “the real estate license of a [time-share] sales agent.” Act of Mar. 21, 1985, ch. 98, 1985 Tenn. Pub. Acts 142, 144. This series of enactments during the 1980s placed time-share intervals within real estate activity and required those engaged in timeshare transactions to hold a license from the Real Estate Commission. The General Assembly amended the Real Estate Broker Act in 1989 to add a third license category for “time-share salesperson[s].” See Act of Mar. 27, 1989, ch. 89, 1989 Tenn. Pub. Acts 121. As amended, the Real Estate Broker Act defined a time-share salesperson as “any person acting as a seller of any time-share interval under contract with or control of a licensed real estate broker pursuant to a registered time-share program.” Id. at 121. See also Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-13-102(15) (providing that licensed brokers and affiliate brokers are also entitled to sell time-share intervals). The General Assembly’s creation of this new license category and its alignment of time-share salespersons with brokers and affiliate brokers in the Real Estate Broker Act further reflect the legislative intent to treat those individuals who engage in time-share transactions similarly to those conducting broader real estate transactions. We can conclude from the historical interrelationship of the Real Estate Broker Act and the Time-Share Act that the General Assembly views time-share salespersons and affiliate brokers similarly with respect to the Employment Security Law exclusion. Both categories of individuals must be licensed by the Real Estate Commission, must perform their 4 The 1981 Act defined “Time-Share Intervals” as a “Time-Share Estate or a Time-Share Use.” 1981 Tenn. Pub. Acts 516. “Time-Share Estate” was described as “an ownership or leasehold estate in property devoted to a time-share fee (tenants in common, time span ownership, interval ownership) and a time-share lease.” Id. “Time-Share Use” was defined as “any contractual right of exclusive occupancy which does not fall within the definition of a ‘Time-Share Estate’ including, without limitation, a vacation license, prepaid hotel reservation, club membership, limited partnership or vacation bond.” Id. -8- services under the control of a broker who actively supervises and trains them, and must meet their respective educational and training requirements. We may also presume that the General Assembly was aware of the qualified real estate agent exclusion when it amended the Real Estate Broker Act in 1989 to include a separate licensing category for time-share salespersons. See Casper, 297 S.W.3d at 683. Based on the legislative history of the Real Estate Broker Act and the Time-Share Act, we conclude that a time-share salesperson is a “licensed real estate agent,” as that term appears in Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-7-207(c)(11)(A). See Nev. Emp’t Sec. Dep’t. v. Capri Resorts, Inc., 763 P.2d 50, 52 (Nev. 1988) (examining Nevada’s substantially similar exclusion and concluding that “the activities of time-share sales agents are clearly analogous to those of licensed real estate salespersons, and are thus exempt from the definition of ‘employment.’”). The Board of Review acknowledged that Ms. Vukich-Daw was licensed by the Tennessee Real Estate Commission but rejected the argument that time-share salespersons are “licensed real estate agents” as defined by the exclusion because time-share salespersons have limited licenses and relaxed licensing requirements when compared to brokers and affiliate brokers. In our view, however, these perceived differences provide no meaningful distinction between time-share salespersons and affiliate brokers. Although time-share intervals are a specialized subset within the real estate market, time-share interests fall within the statutory definition of real estate. Additionally, brokers, affiliate brokers, and time-share salespersons must be licensed by the Real Estate Commission to engage in the real estate business. In determining the scope of the qualified real estate agent exclusion, we find no reason to distinguish these three categories simply because the licensing requirements are not identical. Ms. Vukich-Daw is a licensed real estate agent and therefore satisfies the first criterion of the qualified real estate agent exclusion.