An Act amending the act of July 10, 1990 (P.L.404, No.98), known as the Real Estate Appraisers Certification Act, further providing for definitions and for powers and duties of board; and providing for bias and discrimination training, for prohibition of appraisal discrimination and for disparate impact study.

HB 1297 amends Pennsylvania's Real Estate Appraisers Certification Act to require bias and discrimination training for appraisers before certification or renewal, covering topics like housing discrimination history, fair housing laws, and implicit bias. The bill prohibits appraisers from basing property valuations on protected characteristics such as race, gender, disability, or source of income, with penalties including voided appraisals, license suspension, and fines. It also mandates an annual statewide audit of appraisal practices to identify discrimination patterns and requires the board to report findings to the legislature and state agencies. This directly affects licensed real estate appraisers and aims to address systemic bias in property valuation.