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A bill currently under consideration in the Texas Senate may threaten the existence of the National Association of Realtors’ hate speech policy in the state.
Senate Bill 2713, first introduced to the Texas Senate on March 13, 2025 by Senator Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston), proposes that trade organizations within the state be prohibited from denying anyone membership in their organization due to race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or 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.”
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SB 2713 also states that someone who is aggrieved by a violation of the bill may bring action against the trade organization for damages, which might include court costs and attorney fees.
The bill is currently pending with the Senate committee.
A committee hearing to discuss the bill that took place on Monday showed legislators responding positively to the bill. Likewise, Texas Association of Realtors Director of Public Policy Julia Parenteau and Chief Operating Officer David Jones said during the hearing that the association is neutral to the bill’s proposal.
Individuals who testified in favor of the bill during the hearing included current or former real estate professionals Brian Talley, Brandon Huber, Chad DeVries, Wilson Fauber and Jamie Haynes. All but Talley had received complaints in the past in relation to their expression of alleged hate or similar speech and its alleged violation of the Realtor Code of Ethics, and who said their careers had been negatively impacted by those complaints.
“Across Texas, individuals are being potentially shut out of their own professional communities for nothing more than expressing their views on social media or in public forums,” Sen. Middleton said during the hearing.
“Senate Bill 2713 ensures that no Texan will be denied membership or access in professional or trade associations because of their race, religion, sex or disability, which is already law, but also because of their constitutional protected right to speak and freely assemble. In other words, this bill reaffirms that your ability to work and practice your trade in Texas does not depend on your political or religious beliefs or who you associate with.
“This bill closes the door on ideological discrimination by trade organizations. It remembers the first amendment does not end when you clock in, and yet too many Texans today find themselves faced by adverse action and forced to choose between staying silent or risking expulsion from their trade industry.”
If passed, the new law would take effect on Sept. 1, 2025, and would impact the execution of NAR’s Standard of Practice 10-5 in the state, as well as other similar guidelines laid out by other professional associations in different industries in Texas. The bill does not mention NAR or any other professional organization by name, but just mentions “professional or trade association[s] or organization[s]” more generally.
NAR and the Texas Association of Realtors did not immediately provide a comment for this story, but Texas Realtors provided additional context on April 30, one day after this story was initially published.
“We see tremendous value in upholding standards that support the ability for membership associations to address cases of harassment and discrimination,” Texas Realtors Chairman Christy Gessler said in a statement sent to Inman. “However, we agree that such standards must be balanced with a member’s ability to express personal opinions and beliefs.
“Enforcement of professional standards at Texas Realtors helps ensure that Fair Housing laws are followed and that Realtors provide fair, equal and professional service to all consumers. Our professional standards program involves a rigorous, member-driven process which includes an initial review, a hearing and a right to appeal.”
Gessler added that the state association was working closely with legislators “to ensure they have accurate information and that our professional standards can be upheld while ensuring personal beliefs are not encroached on.”
NAR’s hate speech policy under Article 10 of the Code of Ethics stipulates that Realtors “must not use harassing speech, hate speech, epithets, or slurs based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity.”
In order to qualify as a violation of the code, an individual’s speech must first be determined to be “harassing, hate speech, epithets, or slurs,” and secondly, must be speech based on one of the protected designations mentioned. In updated guidelines released in Nov. 2020, NAR explained that the standard of practice was intended to “not deny equal professional services or be parties to a plan to discriminate.”
“Specifically, bias against protected classes revealed through the public posting of hate speech could result in Realtors not taking clients from certain protected classes or not treating them equally, which would lead to violations of the Fair Housing Act due to overt discrimination or disparate impact,” NAR’s guidance elaborates.
Real estate blogger Rob Hahn listened to the committee hearing on Monday and distilled his takeaways in a post on his blog, NotoriousROB.
“From what I saw during that committee hearing, this bill will sail through Committee,” Hahn wrote. “The Texas Senate is 20 Republicans and 11 Democrats; it will pass there. The Texas House is 88 Republicans and 62 Democrats; it will pass there. There is little likelihood that Greg Abbott will not sign it into law.
“What’s more, the Texas Association of Realtors got on the record saying that they would not oppose it.
“The deal is done, y’all. NAR’s Speech Code will die a well-deserved death, and not soon enough.”
In 2022, NAR contributed $10,000 to Sen. Middleton’s political campaign, according to political funding tracker OpenSecrets.
NAR has been dragged into legal battles before because of the Article 10 hate speech policy. In 2022, Realtor and pastor Brandon Huber (who testified on Monday) sued NAR and his local association, the Missoula Organization of Realtors, for allegedly unlawfully terminating his membership after he stopped his church’s donations to the Missoula Food Bank because of their support of LGBTQ Pride Month, and for sharing anti-LGBTQ sentiments.
Huber’s lawsuit against NAR and MOR ultimately fell flat, and MOR’s Board of Ethics found him guilty of violating Article 10 of the Code of Ethics, but said he could keep his membership if he paid a $5,000 fine and completed sensitivity training. Instead, Huber declined the offer and opted to end his real estate career.
Recognizing a disconnect between political candidates in Texas that NAR supports and the association’s own hate speech policy, the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance launched a campaign in the state in 2023 to try and hold Realtor associations accountable and not fund those who violate the hate speech policy.
“Texas Realtors is therefore holding its members to a higher standard than those politicians [Texas Association of Realtors Political Action Committee] supports,” then-Alliance CEO Ryan Weyandt said in a statement at the time. “We are asking all Realtor associations around the nation, including Texas Realtors, to recognize that those who discriminate should not receive funding even if they support legislation favorable to our industry. Article 10 should be a uniting force for all of us. It is a common-sense consideration.”
Update: This story was updated on April 30, 2025 with a comment from Texas Realtors Chairman Christy Gessler.
Correction: Brian Talley has not received ethics complaints in his capacity as a Realtor. He testified in the Texas Senate committee hearing on Monday in favor of SB 2713.
