Committee hears changes to real estate license law to clarify referrals and out‑of‑state broker sharing

House Bill 1125, a package of clarifications to North Dakota's real estate license law, drew testimony Tuesday from the bill sponsor and both the regulator and trade association representing brokers and agents.

Representative Scott Lausser, R‑Minot, sponsor of the agency prefile bill, told the House Industry, Business and Labor Committee the measure is intended to clarify how referrals and broker compensation sharing work and to align statute with administrative practice. "In our industry we've got 1,500,000 realtors that are trying to change the way they've always done business," Lausser said, outlining why the commission and association sought clearer statutory language.

The bill makes five specific clarifications to chapter 4323 of the North Dakota Century Code, the executive director of the North Dakota Real Estate Commission said. Jeannie Prahm, the commission's executive…