HOUSE BILL No. 5756

 

February 28, 2006, Introduced by Rep. Meyer and referred to the Committee on Regulatory Reform.

 

     A bill to amend 1980 PA 299, entitled

 

"Occupational code,"

 

by amending section 2505 (MCL 339.2505), as amended by 2003 PA 196.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 2505. (1) An applicant for a real estate broker's license

 

shall file an application setting forth the applicant's present

 

address, both of business and residence; the complete address of

 

each former place where the applicant has resided or been engaged

 

in business, or acted as a real estate salesperson, for a period of

 

60 days or more, during the 5 years immediately preceding the date

 

of application. An applicant for a real estate broker's license

 

shall state the name of the individual, sole proprietorship,

 

partnership, association, corporation, limited liability company,

 

common law trust, or a combination of those entities and the


 

location of the place for which the license is desired, and set

 

forth the period of time which the applicant has been engaged in

 

the business. The application shall be executed by the person, or

 

by an officer or member of the applicant. An applicant for a real

 

estate broker's license which is a partnership, association,

 

corporation, limited liability company, common law trust, or a

 

combination of those entities shall designate which individuals who

 

are officers or members of the partnership, association, limited

 

liability company, or corporation will be performing acts regulated

 

by this article as principals.

 

     (2) The department shall not issue a real estate broker's

 

license to a new applicant who has been convicted of embezzlement

 

or misappropriation of funds.

 

     (3) A real estate broker shall maintain a place of business in

 

this state. If a real estate broker maintains more than 1 place of

 

business within the state, a branch office license shall be secured

 

by the real estate broker for each branch office maintained. A

 

branch office maintained in excess of  25  120 miles from the city

 

limits in which the broker maintains a main office shall be under

 

the personal, direct supervision of an associate broker.

 

     (4) An applicant for a salesperson's license shall set forth

 

the period of time during which the individual has been engaged in

 

the business, stating the name of the applicant's last employer and

 

the name and the place of business of the individual, partnership,

 

association, limited liability company, corporation, common law

 

trust, or combination of those entities then employing the

 

applicant or in whose employ the applicant is to enter. The


 

application shall be signed by the real estate broker in whose

 

employ the applicant is to enter.

 

     (5) Before issuing a license, the department may require and

 

procure satisfactory proof of the business experience, competence,

 

and good moral character of an applicant for a real estate broker's

 

or salesperson's license or of an officer or member of an

 

applicant. The department shall require an applicant for a broker's

 

or salesperson's license to pass an examination developed by the

 

department or contracted for with a recognized outside testing

 

agency establishing, in a manner satisfactory to the department,

 

that the applicant has a fair knowledge of the English language,

 

including reading, writing, spelling, and elementary arithmetic; a

 

satisfactory understanding of the fundamentals of real estate

 

practice and of the laws and principles of real estate

 

conveyancing, deeds, mortgages, land contracts, and leases; the

 

obligations of a broker to the public and a principal; and the law

 

defining, regulating, and licensing real estate brokers and

 

salespersons. The department may require written examination or

 

written reexamination of a broker or salesperson, and in that case

 

a passing score satisfactory to the department is required as a

 

condition precedent to relicensure of a broker or salesperson. The

 

department shall require proof that each applicant for a real

 

estate broker's license has the equivalent of 3 years of full-time

 

experience in the business of real estate or in a field that is

 

determined by the department to be relevant and related to the

 

business of real estate.