Bill Text: CA AB723 | 2025-2026 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Real estate: digitally altered images: disclosure.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Passed) 2025-10-10 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 497, Statutes of 2025. [AB723 Detail]

Download: California-2025-AB723-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Assembly  April 03, 2025

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 723

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Introduced by Assembly Member Pellerin

February 14, 2025

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An act to add Section 10140.8 to the Business and Professions Code, relating to real estate.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 723, as amended, Pellerin. Real estate: digitally altered images: disclosure.

Existing law, the Real Estate Law, provides for the licensure and regulation of real estate brokers and salespersons by the Real Estate Commissioner, the chief officer of the Department of Real Estate within the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency. Existing law provides various duties and obligations owed to a prospective purchaser of real property. A willful violation of the Real Estate Law is a crime.

This bill would require a real estate broker or salesperson who includes a digitally altered image, as defined, in an advertisement or other promotional material for the sale of real property to include a disclosure, as specified. If the advertisement or promotional material is posted on an internet website, the bill would require the real estate broker or salesperson to additionally include the same image without digital alteration. By imposing new requirements on real estate licensees, the violation of which is a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 Section 10140.8 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read:

10140.8.

 (a) (1) A real estate broker or salesperson who includes a digitally altered image in an advertisement or other promotional material for the sale of real property shall include in the advertisement or promotional material a statement disclosing that the image has been altered. If The statement shall be reasonably conspicuous and located on or adjacent to the image.

(2) If the advertisement or promotional material is posted on an internet website, the real estate broker or salesperson shall include the unaltered version of the images for which a digitally altered image is included in the posting. A real estate broker or salesperson may comply with this requirement by including a link to the original image.

(b) (1) For purposes of this section, “digitally altered image” means an image a still-photo image, created by or at the behest of the real estate broker or salesperson, that has been altered through the use of photo editing software or artificial intelligence to add, remove, or change elements of the real property in the image, including, but not limited to, furniture, appliances, flooring, and walls.

(2) “Digitally altered image” does not include the use of photo editing software to adjust lighting. lighting, sharpening, white balance, color correction, angle, straightening, cropping, exposure, or other common photo editing adjustments that do not change the condition of the real property.

SEC. 2.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.