Indiana 2025 Regular Session

Indiana House Bill HB1568 Latest Draft

Bill / Introduced Version Filed 01/15/2025

                             
Introduced Version
HOUSE BILL No. 1568
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DIGEST OF INTRODUCED BILL
Citations Affected:  IC 25-34.1-3-4.1.
Synopsis:  Attorney eligibility for real estate broker exam. Allows a
licensed attorney to obtain a real estate broker license without
completing an approved broker course of study.
Effective:  Upon passage; July 1, 2025.
Hatcher
January 21, 2025, read first time and referred to Committee on Employment, Labor and
Pensions.
2025	IN 1568—LS 7740/DI 153 Introduced
First Regular Session of the 124th General Assembly (2025)
PRINTING CODE. Amendments: Whenever an existing statute (or a section of the Indiana
Constitution) is being amended, the text of the existing provision will appear in this style type,
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  Additions: Whenever a new statutory provision is being enacted (or a new constitutional
provision adopted), the text of the new provision will appear in  this  style  type. Also, the
word NEW will appear in that style type in the introductory clause of each SECTION that adds
a new provision to the Indiana Code or the Indiana Constitution.
  Conflict reconciliation: Text in a statute in this style type or this style type reconciles conflicts
between statutes enacted by the 2024 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
HOUSE BILL No. 1568
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
professions and occupations.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
1 SECTION 1. IC 25-34.1-3-4.1, AS AMENDED BY P.L.32-2020,
2 SECTION 1, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
3 JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 4.1. (a) Except as provided in subsection (k), to
4 obtain a broker license, an individual must:
5 (1) be at least eighteen (18) years of age before applying for a
6 license and must not have a conviction for:
7 (A) an act that would constitute a ground for disciplinary
8 sanction under IC 25-1-11;
9 (B) a crime that has a direct bearing on the individual's ability
10 to practice competently; or
11 (C) a crime that indicates the individual has the propensity to
12 endanger the public;
13 (2) have a high school diploma or a general educational
14 development (GED) diploma under IC 20-20-6 (before its repeal)
15 or IC 22-4.1-18;
16 (3) have successfully completed an approved broker course of
17 study as prescribed in IC 25-34.1-5-5;
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1 (4) apply for a license by submitting the application fee
2 prescribed by the commission and an application specifying:
3 (A) the name, address, and age of the applicant;
4 (B) the broker company with which the applicant intends to
5 associate;
6 (C) the address of the broker company;
7 (D) proof of compliance with subdivisions subdivision (2);
8 and (3);
9 (E) proof of compliance with subdivision (3); and
10 (E) (F) any other information the commission requires;
11 (5) pass a written examination prepared and administered by the
12 commission or its duly appointed agent; and
13 (6) within one (1) year after passing the commission examination,
14 submit the license fee established by the commission under
15 IC 25-1-8-2. If an individual applicant fails to file a timely license
16 fee, the commission shall void the application and may not issue
17 a license to that applicant unless that applicant again complies
18 with the requirements of subdivisions (4) and (5) and this
19 subdivision.
20 (b) To obtain a broker license, a partnership must:
21 (1) have as partners only individuals who are licensed brokers;
22 (2) have at least one (1) partner who qualifies as a managing
23 broker under IC 25-34.1-4-0.5 and IC 25-34.1-4-3;
24 (3) cause each employee of the partnership who acts as a broker
25 to be licensed; and
26 (4) submit the license fee established by the commission under
27 IC 25-1-8-2 and an application setting forth the name and
28 residence address of each partner and the information prescribed
29 in subsection (a)(4).
30 (c) To obtain a broker license, a corporation must:
31 (1) have a licensed broker who qualifies as a managing broker
32 under IC 25-34.1-4-0.5 and IC 25-34.1-4-3;
33 (2) cause each employee of the corporation who acts as a broker
34 to be licensed; and
35 (3) submit the license fee established by the commission under
36 IC 25-1-8-2, an application setting forth the name and residence
37 address of each officer and the information prescribed in
38 subsection (a)(4), a copy of the certificate of incorporation, and a
39 certificate of good standing of the corporation issued by the
40 secretary of state.
41 (d) To obtain a broker license, a limited liability company must:
42 (1) if a member-managed limited liability company:
2025	IN 1568—LS 7740/DI 153 3
1 (A) have as members only individuals who are licensed
2 brokers; and
3 (B) have at least one (1) member who qualifies as a managing
4 broker under IC 25-34.1-4-0.5 and IC 25-34.1-4-3;
5 (2) if a manager-managed limited liability company, have a
6 licensed broker who qualifies as a managing broker under
7 IC 25-34.1-4-0.5 and IC 25-34.1-4-3;
8 (3) cause each employee of the limited liability company who acts
9 as a broker to be licensed; and
10 (4) submit the license fee established by the commission under
11 IC 25-1-8-2 and an application setting forth the information
12 prescribed in subsection (a)(4), together with:
13 (A) if a member-managed company, the name and residence
14 address of each member; or
15 (B) if a manager-managed company, the name and residence
16 address of each manager, or of each officer if the company has
17 officers.
18 (e) Licenses granted to partnerships, corporations, and limited
19 liability companies are issued, expire, are renewed, and are effective on
20 the same terms as licenses granted to individual brokers, except as
21 provided in subsection (h), and except that expiration or revocation of
22 the license of:
23 (1) any partner in a partnership or all individuals in a corporation
24 satisfying subsection (c)(1); or
25 (2) a member in a member-managed limited liability company or
26 all individuals in a manager-managed limited liability company
27 satisfying subsection (d)(2);
28 terminates the license of that partnership, corporation, or limited
29 liability company.
30 (f) Upon the applicant's compliance with the requirements of
31 subsection (a), (b), or (c), the commission shall issue the applicant a
32 broker license and an identification card which certifies the issuance
33 of the license and indicates the expiration date of the license. The
34 license shall be displayed at the broker's place of business. For at least
35 two (2) years after the issuance of a license, the individual cannot be a
36 managing broker. An individual who applies for a broker's license after
37 June 30, 2014, must, during the first two (2) years after the license is
38 issued, take and pass at least thirty (30) hours of postlicensing
39 education focused on the practical matters of real estate transactions
40 instead of the continuing education requirements under IC 25-34.1-9.
41 (g) Subject to IC 25-1-2-6(e), unless the license is renewed, a broker
42 license expires, for individuals, on a date specified by the licensing
2025	IN 1568—LS 7740/DI 153 4
1 agency under IC 25-1-6-4 and expires three (3) years after the initial
2 expiration date. An applicant for renewal shall submit an application
3 in the manner prescribed by the commission and pay the renewal fee
4 established by the commission under IC 25-1-8-2 on or before the
5 renewal date specified by the licensing agency. If the holder of a
6 license does not renew the license by the date specified by the licensing
7 agency, the license expires and becomes invalid without the
8 commission taking any action.
9 (h) Subject to IC 25-1-2-6(e), if the holder of a license under this
10 section fails to renew the license on or before the date specified by the
11 licensing agency, the license may be reinstated by the commission if
12 the holder of the license, not later than three (3) years after the
13 expiration of the license, meets the requirements of IC 25-1-8-6(c).
14 (i) If a license under this section has been expired for more than
15 three (3) years, the license may be reinstated by the commission if the
16 holder meets the requirements for reinstatement under IC 25-1-8-6(d).
17 (j) A partnership, corporation, or limited liability company may be
18 only a broker company, except as authorized in IC 23-1.5 and subject
19 to section 4.5 of this chapter. An individual broker who associates with
20 a broker company shall immediately notify the commission:
21 (1) of the name and business address of the broker company with
22 which the individual broker is associating; and
23 (2) of any changes of the broker company with which the
24 individual broker is associated that may occur.
25 Upon receiving notice under subdivision (1) or (2), the commission
26 shall change the address of the individual broker on its records to that
27 of the broker company.
28 (k) The requirements described in subsection (a)(3) and
29 (a)(4)(E) do not apply to an attorney licensed to practice law in
30 Indiana.
31 SECTION 2. [EFFECTIVE UPON PASSAGE] (a) As used in this
32 SECTION, "broker examination" means the written examination
33 prepared and administered by the commission or its duly
34 appointed agent under IC 25-34.1-3-4.1(a)(5).
35 (b) As used in this SECTION, "commission" means the Indiana
36 real estate commission created by IC 25-34.1-2-1.
37 (c) Before June 30, 2026, the commission shall amend 876
38 IAC 6-6-1 to allow attorneys licensed to practice law in Indiana to
39 sit for the broker examination without having completed the
40 educational requirements established by IC 25-34.1-3-4.1(a)(3) and
41 876 IAC 6-1 through 876 IAC 6-5.
42 (d) This SECTION expires July 1, 2027.
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1 SECTION 3. An emergency is declared for this act.
2025	IN 1568—LS 7740/DI 153