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TREC staff outlines bill tracking, and Texas Realtors' proposals to change buyer‑agent rules after NAR settlement
Summary
Commission staff reviewed several bills being tracked — including measures on energy transaction exemptions, water‑service disclosures and licensing eligibility — and summarized Texas Realtors' proposals to require written buyer agreements, create a limited non‑representation status for showing agents, and repeal sub‑agency.
Commission staff gave an update on current legislation and industry proposals at a Texas Real Estate Commission workshop, outlining bills the agency is tracking and options under active consideration by the Texas Realtors trade group.
Staff said the commission is tracking hundreds of filed bills this session and highlighted a selection of those that could affect real‑estate practice or the commission’s statutory duties. Among the bills mentioned at the workshop were HB2349 (by Rep. Darby) and a companion Senate filing described in the meeting; the bills would expand statutory exemptions so that transactions involving energy interests (for example, solar and wind rights) would not be regulated by the commission in the same way mineral transactions currently are. Staff said the change would remove real‑estate licensing jurisdiction for the negotiation of certain energy‑rights transactions.
Another bill flagged by staff, HB2422, would amend seller disclosure requirements to add notice fields about entities that regulate or bill for water service, any excessive water‑use fees or pricing tiers that apply to a property, and the entity responsible for the water service line. Staff said TREC would be required to promulgate a form for disclosure of groundwater service rights conveyed with a property if that bill becomes law.
Staff also summarized bills that would change how criminal convictions affect occupational licensure (HB2498/SB1053 and a separate measure, SB1080), including expanded reporting requirements on applications and a provision to allow licensing applications from inmates and provisional licenses tied to the date of release in some cases.
On agency housekeeping and agency‑sponsored language, staff reiterated items proposed for a TREC housekeeping bill: clarity on education‑course authority (including authority to adjust qualifying education by rule for initial sales agent and broker education), a requirement that the broker responsibility course apply regardless of intent to sponsor others, minor edits to remove obsolete references to residential service companies and to modernize payment language, authority to display business contact information for licensees on the public website, and a technical change on remittances to the general revenue fund.
Separately, staff summarized three statutory options Texas Realtors is considering in response to the national litigation settlement and evolving industry practice: 1) require written buyer agreements before showings or before an offer is submitted; 2) create a narrowly defined non‑representation or “customer” status for licensees who only provide showing services; and 3) repeal sub‑agency. Staff asked commissioners for their tolerance level on those options; commissioners expressed general agreement that written buyer agreements are reasonable, flagged compensation and marketplace concerns for any non‑representation carve‑out, and indicated support for further consideration of eliminating sub‑agency.
Staff said filings for some of the industry proposals could occur soon, and they requested commission feedback to inform the agency’s engagement and any potential housekeeping language. No formal positions or votes were taken at the workshop; staff will continue to track filed bills and bring draft language forward where appropriate.
