C.A.R. Amendment Included in AB 1381

C.A.R. successfully pressed amendments to AB 1381 (Weber) only minutes before the bill’s scheduled hearing in the Senate.

C.A.R. opposed the bill because it contained surprise amendments added during the last allowable day in the Senate, its second house. Those amendments would have created a new exemption to the real estate license and would have permitted unlicensed agents to broker leases, sales and easements for the placement of outdoor advertising.

After considerable lobbying by both sides, which involved administration officials and the entire Senate, the bill was called back to the Business and Professions Committee. C.A.R.’s member mobilization effort forced the proponents to accept the limiting amendments. The amendments ultimately agreed to make the advertising agents’ rule essentially the same as the existing “principals’ exemption” – that is, a corporation can use its own employees to work on its own transactions without having to have them licensed. Any agency or brokerage on behalf of another or a third party still requires a licensee.

Thank you to all the REALTORS® who contacted their state senators to voice their concerns about AB 1381. Your calls made the difference!