The law permitting the waivers has generated widespread criticism, not only for the special treatment afforded the groups but because of the secretive way the measure was adopted in the waning hours of the 1995 legislative session.

"It's ludicrous, and the only person who can get hurt in the end is the consumer," said Realtor Mike Pang. "That's what we have continuing education for - to protect the consumer."

More than 600 exemptions have been granted or are poised for approval by the state Real Estate Commission, sparking numerous complaints from agents who must pay roughly $150 to sit through 10 hours of classes and pass three tests before getting their two-year licenses renewed. One mandatory class covers ethics and changes in real estate law. The waiver law allows the commission to grant exemptions to attorneys, accountants and trustees of charitable trusts if the respective applicants are involved in real estate full time.

Hawaii public-service "participants" who have been involved with real estate or real estate laws for eight preceding years and full-time brokers or agents who have held active licenses for at least 20 years also are eligible.

Because licenses are renewed every even year, this is the first one in which eligible agents have been able to apply for the waiver.

At least two legislators who voted for the law, Sen. Donna R. Ikeda and

Rep. Mary-Jane McMurdo, have applied and are among those to be approved at an upcoming commission meeting, according to commission records. Phone calls to the two legislators were not returned yesterday.

Oswald Stender, a Bishop Estate trustee, also is on the approval list. He is eligible because of his trustee position - the estate is a charitable trust and the state's largest private landowner - and because he has been active in real estate for 40 years.

Stender, who professes to support continuing education requirements, said he was surprised to learn about a month ago that a waiver was even allowed. But with his extensive experience and on-going participation in the industry, he said, he considered the classes and exams too easy.

"For me, it was kind of a waste of time," Stender said.

People familiar with the waiver provision's secretive path through the Legislature say Ikeda and Sen. Milton Holt, chairman of the Senate Consumer Protection Committee and a Bishop Estate employee, were instrumental in getting it passed. Holt could not be reached for comment.

Stender said he never discussed the provision with Holt and was surprised that charitable trusts were included.

The waiver amendment was added to a bill dealing with real estate fines only after the bill went through the public hearing process, allowing no opportunity for public comment on the waivers, according to legislative records and lobbyists who followed the issue.

The House Consumer Protection Committee, headed by Rep. Ron Menor, tacked the amendment onto the bill. Several calls to Menor's office were not returned.

The bill was adopted by the Legislature without opposition on May 1, 1995, the session's final day. Industry officials estimate that at least a dozen legislators have real estate licenses, though some aren't active in the business.

When the amendment was added at the 11th-hour, lawmakers provided no justification for the waivers other than to say the change was crucial in winning the Legislature's approval for preserving continuing education requirements for the industry, recalled Mary Begier, then vice chairperson of the Hawaii Association of Realtors' legislative affairs committee.

"It was a midnight-hour compromise," Begier said.

The 1990 law mandating continuing education, a subject of considerable controversy within the industry and the Legislature, was to expire last year. Critics argued the classes are too easy and a waste of time. Proponents say the instruction enhances the level of professionalism among agents.

Begier said she didn't know who pushed for the waivers.

The association, the industry's chief lobbying group, didn't raise the issue, and the commission, which oversees the industry, opposed allowing waivers, according to representatives from the two organizations.

Yet the enacted law is far broader than what is allowed in virtually every other state, industry officials say.

Few states allow agents to skip continuing education classes except for reasons pertaining to old age, poor health or other extenuating circumstances, they say.

California, for instance, only gives waivers to agents who are at least 70 years old, have been continuously licensed for 30 years or more and have never been disciplined for real estate infractions, said a California Department of Real Estate spokeswoman.

Twenty states as of last year allowed no waivers at all.

The list of Hawaii agents who are getting exemptions is like a who's who of the industry here. Ironically, two past presidents of the Realtors' association, which has lobbied heavily to preserve and strengthen the continuing education law, are on the list of pending approvals.

Also on the list: the owner of an Oahu real estate school.

The waiver controversy has been aggravated because the industry is struggling through a prolonged market slowdown, forcing many agents to leave the business.

As of mid-July, only 3,000 of the nearly 10,000 agents with active licenses had completed the 10 hours of instruction, according to commission records.

An additional 2,300 started taking classes.

And at a time when brokerage companies can ill afford additional expenses, the waiver controversy could cost them money.

A major provider of liability insurance to local brokerages has indicated it will eliminate discounts or increase premiums to individual companies if agents from those companies forgo classroom instruction, Begier said.