# Understanding the AACE Act: What It Does and Why It Matters

The AACE Act (Accelerating Appraisals and Conservation Efforts Act) makes it easier for the federal government to hire property appraisers when it needs to buy, sell, or manage land. Right now, when the Department of the Interior needs someone to figure out what a piece of property is worth, they have to hire an appraiser who is licensed in that specific state. This bill changes that rule by allowing the department to hire any appraiser who is licensed in any state, as long as they're doing work on federal land deals. Think of it like this: if the government needs to appraise a property in Nevada, they can now hire a qualified appraiser from Ohio instead of being limited to only Nevada-licensed appraisers.

The bill does include some practical guardrails. The Department of the Interior should still try to hire appraisers licensed in the state where the property is located whenever possible. They can only hire an out-of-state appraiser if someone local isn't available, isn't qualified for the specific job, or would cost too much. This flexibility is meant to speed up the process of getting properties valued so the government can move forward with land transactions, conservation projects, and other deals more quickly.

To make sure this change actually works, the bill requires the Department of the Interior to report to Congress every year for at least five years. These reports need to show whether appraisals are actually getting done faster, how many requests they're receiving, and whether they're having any problems finding qualified appraisers. The bill also makes clear that this new rule only applies to federal land deals—it doesn't change any state laws about who can be an appraiser for regular, non-federal property transactions. Essentially, this is a targeted fix designed to reduce red tape in federal real estate operations without affecting how appraisals work in the private market.

AACE Act

Lee, Susie

Accelerating Appraisals and Conservation Efforts Act or AACE ActThis bill relaxes requirements for the Department of the Interior in appraising and valuing real property for transactions over which Interior has jurisdiction.Specifically, a private real property appraiser needs only to be licensed or certified in one state to perform appraisal or valuation services for real property over which Interior has jurisdiction. Currently, if a private assessor is used for a real property transaction within Interior's jurisdiction, that assessor must be licensed or certified in the state where that transaction occurs.&nbsp;When using private appraisers, Interior shall, to the maximum extent practicable, use private appraisers who are certified general real property appraisers licensed in the state where the transaction occurs.Additionally, Interior may use a private appraiser who is licensed outside the state in which the transaction occurs only if private appraisers licensed in that state are unavailable, not assignment qualified, or not cost competitive.&nbsp;&nbsp;