Two key real estate bills take aim at industry regulations 

It's the middle of legislative season in state capitals across the U.S., and some of the bills under consideration could have significant impacts on the real estate industry, including measures in Texas and Florida that take aim at industry regulations.

Texas targets NAR speech code: A proposed law in the Lonestar State — SB 2713 — would affect trade groups with standards or codes of ethics around hate speech.

The proposed law would prohibit trade and professional associations from denying membership based on an individual's "lawful exercise of their First Amendment rights," according to Texas State Senator Mayes Middleton, sponsor of the bill.

"The purpose of this legislation is simple: to reaffirm that professional advancement in Texas should be based on merit and conduct — not on ideological conformity," Middleton wrote in a statement accompanying the legislation proposal.

This bill comes in conflict with the National Association of Realtors' Standard of Practice 10-5, which states that Realtors "must not use harassing speech, hate speech, epithets, or slurs based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity."

If the law passes, a person who believes they have been denied membership in an association based on their protected status or "the person's exercise of the person's freedom of speech or assembly" could bring legal action and collect damages, the bill states.

The origins of NAR's policy, and the controversy that followed: NAR voted to adopt a new standard of practice in 2020 in the wake of "an unprecedented number of complaints about Realtors posting discriminatory speech and conduct online, especially on social media," the association wrote in a FAQ.

The policy is meant to hold Realtors to a professional standard that prevents them from discriminating against certain groups of individuals. "Specifically, bias against protected classes revealed through the public posting of hate speech could result in Realtors not taking clients from certain protected classes or not treating them equally, which would lead to violations of the Fair Housing Act due to overt discrimination or disparate impact," NAR stated.

But the policy hasn't been without controversy, largely around what is considered hate speech, noted industry firebrand Rob Hahn in his Notorious Rob blog. Some agents believe they've come under scrutiny for making statements they did not consider to be hate speech. 

One example involved a Montana pastor who professed anti-gay views, leading to an association panel ruling that he violated the standard. The pastor filed a lawsuit, which was eventually dismissed.

Hahn said the Texas bill, which was originally introduced in March, appeared to have quite a bit of support during the public hearing on April 28, giving it a good chance of passing before the legislative session ends in June. It is currently left pending in committee, and if it passes, the bill would go into effect Sept. 1.

Florida looking to scrap industry commission: The Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC) is among several boards slated to be dismantled if a new legislative bill gets signed into law.

The commission oversees home sales and regulates real estate agents. FREC's main focus, according to its website, is to educate as well as regulate real estate licensees. FREC was added to House Bill 1461 earlier this year. 

The bill, which was recently approved by the State House of Representatives, seeks to eliminate a variety of organizations to improve efficiency. State Representative Taylor Yarkovsky, who co-sponsored the bill, has said the move is designed to streamline the real estate industry, according to Florida's News Channel 8.

On April 25, HB 1461 became HB 991 and passed the Florida House of Representatives. It will go to the senate for a vote, but Tim Weisheyer, president of Florida Realtors, told RISMedia he doesn't believe the legislation will be approved this year.

"We are operating under the mindset that it will not make it through, but that this will be an ongoing conversation with the Florida legislature over the next 12 months going into the 2026 session," Weisheyer said to RISMedia.

If the bill is approved, it would go into effect July 1.