Did Iraq contractor fleece American taxpayers?
New revelations have emerged about how tens of millions of taxpayer dollars have been wasted in Iraq. A new report by government watchdogs singles out a big American contractor — Parsons — for shoddy work. Investigators charge that Parsons managed to turn a flagship project to help train Iraqi police into a hall of horrors using taxpayer money...the American construction company turned it into a disaster from the start: incomplete and substandard designs, shoddy construction and no real quality control. "This is the worst project that my inspectors have visited," says Stuart Bowen, inspector general for Iraq.

DOJ Launches KB Home Stock Options Probe
The Department of Justice has launched a probe into the handling of stock options at KB Home, one of the nation's largest homebuilders, although it is not targeting the company directly, KB Home said Friday. As part of its inquiry, the Justice Department is interviewing current and former executives of KB Home, a company spokesman said. The company last month acknowledged that the Securities and Exchange Commission had launched a formal investigation into its options practices.

Texas State Representative Ruth Jones McClendon files outstanding bill – HB1686
The bill would effectively ban the use of mandatory arbitration agreements in contracts for homes or home repairs, require all builders to be registered with TRCC and to carry insurance.  The bill would also regulate home improvement contractors for any repairs costing more than $2,500 and much more...  Read responses to bill and add your comments

Press Release - Bills Would Protect Homeowners from Shoddy Construction
AUSTIN – Representatives Jessica Farrar and David Liebowitz have filed the first two bills intended to amend the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC) in the upcoming 2007 Legislative Session.  Since its creation in 2003, the TRCC has repeatedly come under fire for its inability to successfully assist homeowners in resolving home construction defects, and for the lack of enforcement powers to make builders comply with the conclusions of the commission. 
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Tarrant home builders, others fined
Three Tarrant County-based builders have been fined by a state agency that oversees home builders. The Texas Residential Construction Commission fined 17 builders in all. Larry Travis, a partner with his brother in Travis Construction, said everything is cleared up now. The company forgot to re-register on time. "It's a new policy, and I know it's caught a lot of builders off guard," he said. Representatives from La Ventana Homes and Austin Design/Build did not return phone calls Friday seeking comment.

TRCC site is no help
Although I filed complaints against my builder and received numerous letters from state officials, including the attorney general's office and Gov. Rick Perry, stating they were forwarding my complaint to the Texas Residential Construction Commission for action, my complaint does not show up on the Web site. Texas Residential Construction Commission obviously has made a concerted effort to hide the true number of complaints filed against homebuilders? Perhaps it's something I should have expected, since TRCC is run by the homebuilders for the protection of homebuilders. Website: Destiny Home Horrors

Who'll stop the rot?
Parliament passed legislation establishing the Watertight Homes Resolution Service (WHRS) in 2002...Mr McQuade and the 4060 other New Zealanders who made claims to the WHRS have to pay their own legal fees and expert witness costs. Usually that costs them tens of thousands of dollars. Even if they win - either through mediation or adjudication - there are no guarantees other parties will honour obligations...Though the changes won unanimous support from parliamentarians, National's building and construction spokesman Nick Smith predicted they would make little difference. "They are minor improvements in the right direction," he said. "But the Government is fooling itself if it believes they will solve the problem." He said Dr Smith's figures showed only 7 per cent of claims made to the WHRS had been settled. Each claim had cost claimants $96,000. But the average payout was just $68,000.