Correction · California

California AB 1850 died. Here's what CA wholesalers actually face

In February 2026, Assemblymember Irwin introduced AB 1850: expand the broker definition to anyone who negotiates or enters a purchase contract intending to sell, assign, or market it for compensation — in plain terms, a license requirement for wholesaling, plus written disclosures to the owner and in advertising. The policy committee passed it 19–0. The panic videos wrote themselves.

Then it stopped

AB 1850 was held in Assembly Appropriations on May 14, 2026 and did not become law. California's wholesaling law today is exactly what it was before the bill: California has no wholesaling-specific statute; general licensing law controls (Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 10130/10131). The line is the same principal line as New York's: selling your own contract position is not brokerage; negotiating or marketing property for another person, for compensation, is. The Dept. of Real Estate issues cease-and-desists against wholesalers who market properties they do not own. AB 1850 (2026), which would have written wholesaling into the broker definition and required a license plus written disclosures, was held in Assembly Appropriations on May 14, 2026 and did not become law — expect a reintroduction, since the policy committee vote was 19–0.

What to actually watch

A 19–0 policy vote does not disappear; expect a reintroduction, and expect the next version to keep the disclosure architecture. Meanwhile the live California traps are older and quieter: the § 10139 penalty on the books (Willful unlicensed brokerage: fine up to $20,000, up to 6 months in county jail, or both (§ 10139); corporations up to $60,000. The DRE issues cease-and-desist orders for property-marketing.) and the CAR forms problem — the standard purchase agreement is non-assignable by default, so an assignment needs the AOAA addendum a generic national contract never mentions.