SB404 Summary

• Authorizes the Alabama Real Estate Commission to provide live virtual online education courses for prelicense, postlicense, and continuing education with certification requirements equivalent to in-person classroom courses.

• Revises commission membership from 9 to 10 members with changes to the appointment process, allowing statewide professional real estate societies to nominate candidates and requiring at least three Black or African American members and one consumer member.

• Prohibits the commission from engaging in political activity, hiring lobbyists, or using public resources for political speech or advocacy regarding commission appointments.

• Establishes new licensure requirements including mandatory risk management (3 hours), fair housing (3 hours), and ethics training (3 hours) in the 60-hour prelicense course effective October 1, 2022, and requires 48 months of active real estate experience for broker applicants beginning October 1, 2022.

• Makes a licensee's license inactive if payment to the commission is declined or rejected by a financial institution, requiring full payment plus a penalty fee not exceeding the maximum bad check charge.