Nearly one year ago, I wrote that Assembly Member Tom Daly had introduced legislation that would allow limited liability companies to obtain a real estate license. Action on the bill stalled out last April and the bill would have died had it not passed out of the Assembly by the end of last month. Joint Rule No. 61(b)(3) & Cal. Const. Art. IV, Sec. 10(c). On the penultimate day, the Assembly voted AB 687 out on a 56-0 vote, with 24 members not voting. The Senate Rules Committee will assign the bill to one or more committees for additional discussion and votes.
While AB 687 avoided negative votes on the Assembly floor, it has at least one significant opponent - the California Association of Realtors®. C.A.R. has expressed "serious concerns" about the financial burden to the Department of Real Estate and the mandatory insurance requirement for LLC licensees. The bill is supported by the California Business Properties Association.