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A Texas bill that aimed to prohibit professional and trade associations like the National Association of Realtors (NAR) from denying membership based on protected characteristics or what’s perceived to be free speech failed to advance in the state legislature Wednesday, according to Inman.
Senate Bill 2713, introduced by Sen. Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston), was reportedly left unconsidered in the Texas House’s Trade, Workforce and Economic Development Committee before a midnight deadline.
A representative for Middleton told Inman that the bill is now considered “sine die,” meaning it will not be revisited in this session or in the future.
SB 2713 proposed that trade organizations could not deny membership based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, national origin or “because of the person’s exercise of the person’s freedom of speech or assembly, notwithstanding any provision of the association’s or organization’s bylaws.”
The bill also allowed individuals to sue associations for damages, including court costs and attorney fees, if they believed their rights had been violated.
The Texas Senate passed the bill by a 22-9 vote on May 8, but the House never brought it to a vote, Inman added.
Speech code background
Texas’ legislation was introduced in part as a response to the National Association of Realtor’s (NAR) speech code — which was introduced in 2020.
Code provisions aimed to stop Realtors from engaging in discriminatory hate speech, even outside of their professional activities.
NAR has been considering major revisions to its Code of Ethics and policy statements. An agenda for NAR’s upcoming legislative meetings — which are scheduled for May 31 to June 5 — includes a risk assessment that flags portions of the group’s ethics code and related policies as potential legal liabilities, Inman reported.
NAR is reportedly proposing to more precisely define “harassment” and to limit disciplinary action to violations that occur in a professional or business setting.
Revisions would still encourage members to uphold the code’s values “in all of their activities,” but enforcement would focus on conduct linked to real estate work.
Industry opinions on speech code, legal precedent
Although the Texas bill did not reference a specific industry, testimony during an April 28 Senate committee hearing reportedly centered on the real estate sector.
Several current and former real estate professionals — including Brandon Huber, Chad DeVries, Wilson Fauber and Jamie Haynes — spoke in support of the bill. All had previously faced complaints related to speech.
In December, the Virginia Association of Realtors ruled that Fauber violated NAR’s speech code through multiple social media posts.
Huber — a Montana Realtor and pastor — accused NAR of engaging in “anti-Christian bigotry” after he was fined and suspended from the Missoula Organization of Realtors for reportedly expressing his views on homosexuality and the LGBTQ+ community.
DeVries filed a lawsuit against the Arizona Association of Realtors (AAR) in July 2024, alleging that AAR did not have authority over his personal conduct, which allegedly included social media posts deemed to be discriminatory.
Multiple real estate industry organizations — including the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance — cited the LBGTQ+ community’s lack of protection under the Fair Housing Act as reason to keep the Speech Code in place.
Legal opinion — including multiple U.S. Supreme Court rulings — generally asserts that professional codes of conduct like NAR’s speech code do not violate the First Amendment.
