The Florida Attorney General's office has concluded that rebates or promotional gifts of this type are not a violation of Florida law governing real estate brokers. In Florida, a real estate broker is prohibited from sharing his commission with or paying a fee or other compensation to a person not properly licensed as a broker, for the referral of real estate business, clients, prospects, or customers. However, the Florida Attorney General concluded in the absence of any judicial or legislative direction or any statute prohibiting or penalizing such activity that a real estate broker may engage in these types of real estate promotions. Moreover, the Florida opinion concluded that if the discount is deemed to be in the nature of a gift, neither chapter 475 nor the rules of the Florida Real Estate Commission prohibit a real estate broker from offering, promoting, and eventually giving a gift to a member of the public if that individual purchases a specific property listed with the broker. Based upon this conclusion, it appears Florida does not consider discounts or promotions given by a real estate broker to A buyer to be a referral and therefore, is not prohibited under Florida statutes.
Legislative intent is the controlling factor in statutory interpretation.
A statute that is ambiguous should be construed in light of the legislative intent, reason and public policy. Therefore, the intent of the legislature is the controlling factor in statutory interpretation. When the language of a statute is clear on its face, its intention must be deduced from such language. The language of NRS 645.280 is plain and unambiguous. If the Nevada Legislature intended to include the giving of rebates, gifts, or discounts as an unlawful activity, it would have included this language as Oregon, Minnesota, and Mississippi did in their statutes.