Real estate brokers; extend repealer on maximum license fees charged by MS Real Estate Commission.
HB956 amends Mississippi’s real estate licensing law to extend the sunset date on two fee provisions in Section 73-35-17. Specifically, it pushes back the repeal date for the statutory maximum fees that may be charged for a real estate broker’s license and the related broker fee provision from July 1, 2025, to July 1, 2028. The bill does not change the fee caps themselves; it preserves the Mississippi Real Estate Commission’s authority to charge broker application and related broker fees up to the existing statutory limits for an additional three years.
The bill is narrowly focused on the licensing fee structure for real estate brokers, and it leaves the rest of the real estate licensing framework unchanged. The underlying statute still governs application fees, renewal fees, duplicate licenses, office changes, inactive/active status changes, bad check fees, seminar costs, and continuing education course approval fees. HB956’s practical effect is to keep the current maximum broker fee provisions in force longer before they would otherwise expire.
The available legislative history suggests the bill was not controversial in the House. It passed on January 28, 2025, by a vote of 118 yeas and 0 nays, indicating broad support and no recorded opposition in that chamber. There are no committee transcript excerpts provided, so there is no additional recorded debate to indicate disagreement or concern.
Because the bill simply extends an existing repealer date rather than creating a new fee or increasing a cap, the main point of policy interest is continuity for the Mississippi Real Estate Commission and the real estate licensing system. Any contention would likely center on whether the Commission should continue operating under these fee limits or whether the sunset should have been allowed to take effect, but no such dispute is reflected in the available record.
HB956 amends Section 73-35-17 of the Mississippi Code to extend the repeal date for the statutory provisions governing maximum fees for real estate broker licensing, moving the sunset from July 1, 2025, to July 1, 2028. This preserves the Commission’s ability to charge broker-related fees up to the existing statutory caps and prevents those fee-limit provisions from expiring on the earlier date. The bill affects the Mississippi Real Estate Commission, real estate brokers, and applicants for broker licenses, but it does not alter the fee amounts or other licensing requirements in the statute.
The bill appears to have been received positively and without opposition in the House, where it passed 118-0. That vote suggests broad bipartisan or at least chamber-wide agreement that the fee-limit provisions should remain in place for another three years. No committee discussion is available, but the voting record indicates a low-conflict, routine extension of existing law rather than a contentious policy change.
No specific contention is documented in the provided materials. The only potential policy issue is the continued extension of the fee-cap provisions for broker licenses, which could matter to licensees, the real estate industry, and the Mississippi Real Estate Commission if stakeholders preferred the sunset to occur or wanted a different fee structure. However, the unanimous House vote and lack of recorded debate suggest no significant opposition surfaced during consideration.