by Mike Colpitts 
The Florida Real Estate Commission survives shutdown and will not be eliminated under a proposal that failed to be passed by the state legislature, (HB-1461). In a sweeping move, the Florida Senate quietly let a bill to abolish the commission and other state agencies die after it failed to muster enough votes in the State Senate.
The Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC) is the organization that regulates real estate licensees in the state of Florida. The bill to wipe out FREC and other regulated professions in Florida made it to the second step in the regulatory process.
The deregulation bill would have eliminated nearly all boards and commissions that regulate professions under the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). The effort was part of a larger movement ushered in under President Donald Trump to de-regulate industries throughout the U.S.
Critics argued that abolishing FREC without a clear alternative would create massive regulatory uncertainty. There’s no statutory clarity on how investigations, disciplinary hearings, licensing decisions, or ethics oversight would function—and whether DBPR has resources to cover them.
Florida Real Estate Commission Survives
FREC licenses real estate agents and brokers, and disciplines agents and brokers who break laws regulating the real estate industry. The commission sets fines for real estate agents who break state laws and in the worst of circumstances revokes licenses.
The Florida Real Estate Commission was created to protect the public trust regulating the conduct of real estate licensees and ensure that real estate professionals in Florida comply with legal and ethical standards.
Florida has some of the strongest real estate laws regulating agents and brokers in the nation. Real estate represents more than $394 billion—or 24%—of Florida’s economy, according to the Florida Realtors Association.
Florida Realtors strongly opposed the legislation. Florida Realtor President Tim Weisheyer testified before state lawmakers, lobbying against the proposal. “Real estate comprises some 24% of Florida’s economy,” Weisheyer told state lawmakers.
Lobbying Against Deregulating Real Estate Commission
The coalition’s lobbying involved multiple lobbyists in Tallahassee, the state capitol, against deregulating the Florida real estate commission and strong direct text messaging to lawmakers that abolishing FREC would be “too big a risk” given its public mandate. The American Real Estate Association also spoke out, warning that replacing FREC’s industry expertise with a generic bureaucracy would weaken oversight and erode public trust. “This is not deregulation—it’s de‑professionalization,” Inman real estate news reported.
Although the bill passed the Florida House with a 69–42 vote, the Florida Senate showed no appetite for moving the bill forward to become law.
With nearly one‑quarter of Florida’s economy tied to real estate and millions of consumers making what is likely their single biggest financial decision buying homes and other real estate, FREC plays a vital role in the process.
Florida Realtors signaled a willingness to collaborate on modernization, but without dismantling FREC—emphasizing improvements and new processes could aid the industry.