Transparency of TRCC Smoke and Mirrors |
Monday, 29 December 2008 |
Senatorâs got Sunset on his mind
The agency is supposed to oversee home inspections and help the homeowner and builder come to an out-of-court agreement. But critics contend that this process often gets mired in bureaucracy. âThe bottom line is that it doesnât serve the interests of homeowners,â said Alex Winslow, executive director of Texas Watch, an Austin-based consumer advocacy organization. Winslow wants the Legislature to abolish the agency and adopt more rigorous licensing standards for home builders, but he will also support making the state commission inspection process optional to homeowners. |
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Houston Chronicle Editorial: Stacked deck - Political Contributions Halt Homebuyer Protection |
Saturday, 20 December 2008 |
Texas lawmakers flush with building industry contributions vote to extend life of fatally flawed TRCC
In disregarding a recommendation of the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission staff to dismantle the Texas Residential Construction Commission, the elected members of the Sunset Commission's governing board have served their political interests at the expense of constituents...The Sunset Commission staff concluded that the TRCC is too flawed to repair and "without true regulation designed to ensure public protection," Texans are better served without it. We wholeheartedly agree and hope that in the coming legislative session, lawmakers will vote to shutter this sham of a commission. |
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Austin-Statesman Editorial: Sunset Commissioners should do a better job for consumers |
Saturday, 20 December 2008 |
Construction panel lacks effective power
The Sunset staff in August recommended that the construction commission be abolished because it and the law that created it were so badly designed and built that it was "easy for even problem builders to stay in business." In essence, the law forced the buyer of a new home who had unresolved complaints about a defect to go through a new government bureaucracy, the construction commission, to resolve disputes before any lawsuit could be filed. ..But as the Sunset staff found, even after the Legislature tried to strengthen the construction commission's powers in 2005, it "still has no real power to require builders to make needed repairs." |
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Texas Builder Money Works - Ten Lawmakers Rejected a Recommendation to Abolish Builder Agency |
Friday, 19 December 2008 |
Builder, homeowner mediator gets thumbs up
Ten lawmakers who rejected a recommendation to abolish the state agency that helps shield home builders from consumer lawsuits have received a total of at least half a million dollars in campaign contributions from builders since 2000...Most of the money â $486,000 â came from Houston home builder Bob Perry. Another $22,050 was contributed by the Texas Association of Builders' political action cmmittee... âWe're talking about the largest campaign contributor in the state of Texas in Bob Perry, and certainly the home builders lobby is influential at the Capitol,â he said...Hegar, R-Katy, has received $64,500 in campaign contributions from builder Perry, including $45,000 in 2006 during his first Senate race. |
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Builder Money: Elected Officials Continue TRCC's Intended Purpose to Establish Warranty Disputes |
Wednesday, 17 December 2008 |
Tx sunset panel urges sparing construction commission
A state agency scheduled for abolition because it has been ineffective in resolving consumers' complaints against homebuilders should continue, a review panel has decided...The Sunset Commission, a panel of 10 lawmakers and two public members, rejected a staff review that said the agency is ''fundamentally flawed'' and should be abolished. The staff report said the agency is doing more harm than good for homeowners, who must go through the agency's dispute resolution process before they can file lawsuits against builders. The Sunset Commission rejected calls from consumer advocates to allow homeowners to bypass the TRCC and go directly to court |
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Home Builders Continued Influence Regulation of Homebuyers |
Wednesday, 17 December 2008 |
Texas Sunset Commission votes not to abolish homebuilding agency, says it must resolve complaints faster
The Texas Sunset Commission voted Tuesday not to abolish the state's much-maligned homebuilding agency but said it must do a better job settling homeowner complaints...Under current law, a homebuilder cannot be forced to make any repairs and a homeowner cannot take a builder to arbitration or court until a resolution process is complete.The action falls short of a staff recommendation that the housing agency be abolished because it has become a boon to homebuilders. Critics say the agency effectively discourages homeowners from redressing their complaints by mandating they go through a bureaucracy that has no authority to fix their problems before taking their complaints to court. |
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Latest News on the Texas Residential Construction Commission |
Monday, 15 December 2008 |
Express-News Capitol Update
The next test for the embattled Texas Residential Construction Commission comes Tuesday, when the Sunset Advisory Commission will decide whether to endorse a staff recommendation that the Legislature abolish the agency....Ten of the 12 members of the Sunset Advisory Commission are legislators, and, as I reported a few months ago, Perry has given those 10 more than $400,000 during their legislative careers. Hegar has received $64,500 from Perry, most of it during his first Senate race in 2006. Hegar said Perry's money won't affect his decision... When asked what he would do if the TRCC's future were up to him alone, Hegar stopped short of abolishing the agency. âI would probably get rid of the board and get rid of everybody and start all over from scratch,â he said. |
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Star-Telegram: Keep Eye on TRCC Builder Protection Agency |
Friday, 03 October 2008 |
Watchdog: TRCC called 'unfixableâ
The Watchdog always keeps one paw on the Texas Residential Construction Commission, which, as we reported this summer, was recommended for extinction by the staff of the state Sunset Advisory Commission. This week, a Texans for Public Justice study said the 10 lawmakers on the sunset panel accepted a total of $223,000 in campaign contributions from home builders in the past three years. Throughout their legislative careers, the same 10 received $446,000 from major builder Bob Perry of Houston. Perry is considered one of the prime backers of the TRCC, and one of his top aides was appointed to the commissionâs board by Gov. Rick Perry. |
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Sunset Commission Hearing on Homebuilder Protection Agency |
Friday, 26 September 2008 |
See Video of Sunset Commission Hearing
Click on 9/23/2008 Hearing on TRCC Staff Report begins at 3 hours and 45 minutes. TRCC Agency & Builders testimony 4:42. Consumer testimony starts at about 9:40. |
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