SB404 Alabama 2021 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Dan RobertsSenator

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2021

Title

Real Estate Commission, live virtual online education courses, provided, method of appointing members to commission revised, qualifications for licensure of a real estate broker and real estate salesperson provided, Secs. 34-27-5, 34-27-8.1 repealed; Secs. 34-27-6, 34-27-7, 34-27-8, 34-27-32, 34-27-35, 34-27-36 am'd.

Summary

SB404 would modernize Alabama's Real Estate Commission rules by authorizing live online education, changing commissioner appointments, tightening licensure standards, and enhancing consumer protections and school oversight.

What This Bill Does

The bill would let the commission approve live virtual online education for prelicense, postlicense, and continuing education and make the same certification requirements for virtual courses as for in-person ones. It revises how the commission is appointed, adds a consumer member, requires diversity in appointments, and restricts political activity and lobbying by the commission. It tightens licensure requirements for brokers and salespersons, expands reciprocal licensing with Alabama-specific coursework, and adds continued education topics like risk management, fair housing, and ethics. It also creates new financial safeguards for real estate schools (bond requirement), requires certain disclosures and prohibits bad payments by licensees (inactive status), and repeals outdated sections while updating the code language.

Who It Affects

• Real estate licensees (brokers and salespersons) who would face updated licensure rules, background checks, and potential inactive status for faulty payments.
• Prospective and reciprocal licensees (out-of-state movers) who would face new entry requirements, including Alabama coursework, exams, and ongoing CE.
• Proprietary and branch real estate schools, which would face a bond requirement, new fees, administrator requirements, and approval to offer virtual courses.
• Consumers in Alabama, who would benefit from stronger consumer protections, ethics training, and clearer agency disclosure in real estate transactions.
• The Alabama Real Estate Commission and state government, which would see changes to appointment processes, ethics rules, and enforcement authorities.

Key Provisions

• Authorize the commission to approve and regulate live virtual online education for prelicense, postlicense, and continuing education, with certification requirements for virtual courses and instructors mirroring in-person courses.
• Revise the method of appointing commission members to ensure diversity, include a consumer member, and prohibit political activity and lobbying by the commission; repeal outdated sections related to county license lists and rulemaking findings.
• Tighten licensure requirements for brokers and salespersons, including background checks (state and national), residency and experience rules, and new reciprocity provisions requiring six hours of Alabama coursework and a state-specific exam; require ongoing CE with specified topics (risk management, fair housing, ethics).
• Implement a $20,000 surety bond for proprietary schools, covering refunds for tuition or fees due to incomplete instruction; require bond maintenance for all branches, suspend licenses if the bond is not maintained, and require school administrators; set annual license and renewal fees for schools and branches.
• Make a license inactive if a licensee presents a faulty payment to the commission and require full payment plus penalties to reactivate; provide processes for temporary qualifying brokers after death or disability; require background checks and fingerprinting for licensure; require agency disclosure on offers to purchase.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 23, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Real Estate Commission