Bill to Save TRCC From Sun Setting on the Builders Agency Moves
HB 2295 – the TRCC Sunset bill – was substituted and voted out of committee last Friday with a unanimous vote.  The bill and a summary are attached. The bill now refers to builders as "Licensed" rather than "Registered," with a surety bond for some builders and educational requirements, are some of the features included in the bill.   After this bill is voted out of the House, it’ll move to the Senate for a hearing.

 Substitute Bill 2295  - Summary of TRCC Sunset Bill HB 2295

Buying a home? Think thrice!
Here's the latest from Texas, which shouldn't surprise anyone. The “great state” of Texas has a state “regulatory” agency called the Texas Residential Construction Commission,...it's of no surprise to me to learn that Texas builders, which, according to today's report on NPR have financed the elections of all but six of Texas' 188 “elected” legislators, are up in arms about an uppity legislator from a district north of Austin who has dared to propose new legislation to abolish this agency, just because the largest builder in his district is walking around (make that riding around in his armed limousine with tinted windows) with 37 felony indictments hanging over his head for building and selling high priced trash boxes disguised as houses. These charges, no doubt, are supposed to go away the usual way, with a little help from his friends: namely those other 182 legislators and their appointed judges. The whole purpose of the TRCC is, of course, to protect crooked homebuilders from being sued by their victims, and it has proven to be highly effective.

The Watchdog: When it comes to the Texas Residential Construction Commission, follow the money
As always, you can follow the money behind efforts to promote the builder-friendly Texas Residential Construction Commission. As always, most of the money leads back to the largest individual donor in recent state history. Usually, such a big elephant would remain unmentioned in a legislative hearing, but on Monday,Rep. Chente Quintanilla, D-El Paso, brought it up — obliquely. He berated the construction commission: "It never became consumer-friendly." Then, after asking why, he mentioned "some builder who should not be named" and a "report about donations." Referring to the lawmakers’ overturning of the sunset staff report, he said: "All of a sudden, it changed overnight. Was the tail wagging the dog? Were they able to control what the commission was supposed to do?"

Troubles build up for housing contractors
Another indicator of how the builder woes are rippling though the housing market is the number of complaints received by the Texas Residential Construction Commission, the agency that regulates home builders.  Duane Waddill, the TRCC’s executive director, said consumer complaints related to builders abandoning work sites or other financial issues like earnest money refunds made up 19 percent of the agency’s complaints in the last fiscal quarter, up from 14 percent in the previous three months.  “There’s clearly a major increase in the complaints we’re getting related to builders no longer in business,” he said.

Who supports the Texas Residential Construction Commission
The staff of the Sunset Commission after a 6-month indepth investigation recommended abolishing the TRCC. A list of those in support of this recommendation and those who were against abolishing was published in the report issued by the staff. Here is the list of those who are for abolishing the Commission... then the list in support of abolishing the TRCC:

Homebuilder who backs TRCC donated thousands to lawmakers deciding agency's fate
The fate of the Texas Residential Construction Commission, an agency designed to regulate and handle complaints against homebuilders, lies in the hands of lawmakers who received thousands of dollars from Houston homebuilder Bob Perry, one of the agency's top supporters.  The Legislature's Sunset Commission staff – which reviews state agencies and recommends how to beef them up – determined last year that the agency is so toothless and such a hindrance to aggrieved homeowners that it should be abolished. Since 2000, Perry, whose corporate attorney helped create the commission six years ago, has donated $388,000 to 10 of the 11 members of the Business and Industry Committee, state records show."Maybe the tail was wagging the dog," said Rep. Chente Quintanilla, D-El Paso, the only member of the House committee who has never received a donation from Perry.

Business & Industry Hearing - Rep. McClendon Sunset Bill 2295 
Executive Director Duane Waddill misrepresents facts. Consumers tell the true story of TRCC failures.
View Hearing video: 03-23-09: 3:46 p.m. - 9:49 p.m.