BILL NUMBER: SB 596INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Senator Anderson FEBRUARY 27, 2015 An act to amend Section 10026 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to real estate. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 596, as introduced, Anderson. Real estate. The Real Estate Law provides for the regulation and licensure of real estate brokers and salespersons by the Real Estate Commissioner. As used in the Real Estate Law, the term "advance fee" is defined as a fee regardless of the form, that is claimed, demanded, charged, received, or collected by a licensee for services requiring a license, or for a listing, as defined, before fully completing the service the licensee contracted to perform or represented would be performed, with certain exceptions. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to these provisions. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 10026 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read: 10026. (a) The term "advance fee," as used in this part, is a fee, regardless of the form, that is claimed, demanded, charged, received, or collected by a licensee for services requiring a license, or for a listing, as that term is defined in Section 10027, before fully completing the service the licensee contracted to perform or represented would be performed. Neither an advance fee nor the services to be performed shall be separated or divided into components for the purpose of avoiding the application of this division. (b) For the purposes of this section, the term "advance fee" does not include any of the following : (1) "Security" as that term is used in Section 1950.5 of the Civil Code. (2) A "screening fee" as that term is used in Section 1950.6 of the Civil Code. (3) A fee that is claimed, demanded, charged, received, or collected for the purpose of advertising the sale, lease, or exchange of real estate, or of a business opportunity, in a newspaper of general circulation, any other written publication, or through electronic media comparable to any type of written publication, provided that the electronic media or the publication is not under the control or ownership of the broker. (4) A fee earned for a specific service under a "limited service" contract. For purposes of this section, a "limited service" contract is a written agreement for real estate services described in subdivision (a), (b), or (c) of Section 10131, and pursuant to which such services are promoted, advertised, or presented as stand-alone services, to be performed on a task-by-task basis, and for which compensation is received as each separate, contracted-for task is completed. To qualify for this exclusion, all services performed pursuant to the contract must be described in subdivision (a), (b), or (c) of Section 10131. (c) A contract between a real estate broker and a principal that requires payment of a commission to the broker after the contract is fully performed does not represent an agreement for an advance fee. (d) This section does not exempt from regulation the charging or collecting of a fee under Section 1950.5 or 1950.6 of the Civil Code, but instead regulates fees that are not subject to those sections.