The Wall Street Journal called this and similar bills in other states "The Realtor Racket" in a Aug. 12, 2005 editorial: "These rules outlaw the increasingly popular choice of home sellers who contract with an agent to list their homes for a flat fee of typically around $500, but then handle all the other aspects of the home sale themselves in order to save $5,000 to $10,000 in additional fees. How large is the restraint of trade rents in this industry? Americans are paying about $20 billion a year more for real estate services -- or about $3,000 on an average priced home -- than are home buyers in other nations."

Well, it's ba-aack, but the bill's teeth have been pulled. The bill that passed the House yesterday makes the full range of services the "default," but allows a seller to waive particular services.

That's all. It's just so unusual to see the legislature do something that doesn't dig a deeper hole . . .